


Neptune's Silver Lining

by LoeyBaekery



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alien!Baekhyun, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, Fantasy, Fights, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, I know you'll like it, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Just trust me and read, Kidnapping, Love/Hate, M/M, Minor Character Death, Miscommunication, Modern Setting Retelling of Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Pining, Plot, Prince! Chanyeol, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Slavery, Tentacle Sex, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:08:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 41,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27260974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoeyBaekery/pseuds/LoeyBaekery
Summary: As an Alien- falling in love with the Prince, who probably hates him, is the stupidest thing Baekhyun has ever done.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 15
Kudos: 120
Collections: EXO MONSTERFEST 2020





	Neptune's Silver Lining

**Author's Note:**

> So this is what it feels like to create an entire universe? Gotta say, it's a pretty darn good feeling.  
> Hah, cannot believe that I finished this fic.  
> I don’t even know how to explain what this particular fic means to me. I have been a fan of this fest for a long time, but every year, whenever I trudged through the prompt archives, I couldn’t find it within my creative skills to be able to twist a prompt and weave a story.  
> Not going to sugarcoat it because writing for this fest has been a challenge, but a bitter sweet one.  
> It kind of saddens me now that it's come to an end. (Finally, hehe) 
> 
> I would really really like to thank and appreciate B, who has been the kindest and most helpful person to ever exist. This fic would have been nowhere near complete; rather ending on a cliffhanger, it weren’t for my dedicated beta-nim who made sure she screamed about what she liked about this fic, motivating me further. From helping me weed out the grammatical errors, to the plot holes, to even discussing the relevance of the summary, she has been an important part of this journey. I hope you know how much I appreciate and love you!
> 
> Moving on to Y and D, who have been a constant source of annoyance :P Thank you for being there, thank you for the discussion sessions, thank you for the motivation.  
> As for the readers who were kind enough to read this, I hope this fic brings as much adventure and happiness in your life, as it did in mine.
> 
> To the prompter of O124, I do not know what you will think of, when you see, what I have made out of your prompt, but I hope it is something that you grow fond of.

**_  
_** **_-The Abduction-_ ** _  
_ _  
_   
Baekhyun’s eyelash caught a drop of dirtied rainwater that had managed to infiltrate the thick wooden lining of the box, which he was currently held captive in. The water dripped onto his forehead as he realised his limbs had already begun to sting and lose sensation from having sat in the same position for too long. 

Baekhyun could not put a number on how many days it had been since he was abducted, but soon realised it couldn’t have been more than one because being an ordinary human, he could not go without running to the washroom for this long.

His kidnappers had fed him just a few hours back, and from the glimpses of the surroundings he’d managed to catch, he thought it was safe to say that they were still near his hometown, or so he thought. However, the drastic change in the atmosphere outside begged to differ. Baekhyun was confused when he heard the sudden loud noise of a thunderstorm and the rain outside. The box he was enclosed inside had also started reeking of something that was damp and rotten, making him scrunch his nose in disgust. 

He had no clue what his kidnappers wanted from him, but that was the least of his worries. The food he was fed a few hours back had apparently been digested enough and did not want to be in his body anymore. Out of pure anxiety, Baekhyun began searching for an escape, and that was when he noticed three small holes on the right, next to his head. He struggled to move inside the box and finally found his eyes boring into the outside world as he tried to pinpoint where he was. It looked like an unknown territory, somewhere he’d never ventured upon in the past.  
  
Soon, to Baekhyun’s surprise, his carriage—or rather the box he was kept captive in—was nestled onto the floor. A salty yet pristine smell hit his nostrils, definitely much more refreshing and raw than the dampness that lingered all around him. Baekhyun took the opportunity and started banging on all possible sides of his cage. Every place that would make a noise was rapped upon, his fingers ached but his desperation to escape conquered. 

He continued until he heard a loud roar and instantly recoiled in fear. The creaking of the lumberwood above him made him retreat to the corner of the box. He gulped out loud when a head peeked in. The person looked human but still eerie. Baekhyun noticed the short flippers for his hands, which were clawing at the top of the cage as if helping the man hold onto the rim for support. The man tilted his head sideways, questioning him as to why he had caused such a ruckus. Meanwhile, Baekhyun could not figure out why his captor looked at him with an expression this innocent, yet it did not make him any less scary. 

The sight of a shivering and terrified Baekhyun made his onlooker frown, and he motioned for someone else to have a look. This time, someone who looked different but with similar flippers for hands peeked in from the other side. Both of them looked like they were wondering what the human was up to. 

Baekhyun was curious, but that did not mean his body, or stomach, could relate. The smaller clutched his stomach suddenly, making his captors flinch. As they got ready to tackle Baekhyun if needed, but the fart that the tiny human let out embarrassed him, as well as managed to surprise his kidnappers, judging from how their eyes widened. Baekhyun quickly looked at the floor, avoiding eye contact as his face scrunched to try and erase this memory.  
  
He willed for himself to blackout from the way he clamped his eyes shut, but all he heard were loud giggles, embarrassing him further. The tap on his shoulder sent him into a squabbling frenzy, but the smaller of the two kidnappers, put his hands up as if letting him know he meant no harm. When Baekhyun calmed down, he saw one of them motion for him to stand up. He tried but before he could even stretch to his full height and jump out of the box, he staggered from feeling of ants taking over his numb nerves.   
  
As if he weighed less than a pack of chips, his abductor quickly extended an arm and pulled him out. Baekhyun’s eyes were tightly shut, but his hands wandered around the other’s back until he realised the hard surface he thumbed upon. His muddled expression gave away what he’d realised and the stranger quickly placed him back on his feet. Baekhyun felt the soft but cold wet sand, cascading over his toes, instead of the rigid wood. Opening his eyes, he finally examined his surroundings, only to realise that he was standing at the seaside, water too dark to house normal marine life, but ironically still smelling fresher than usual.   
  
“Go..Tree...” Baekhyun heard the stranger croak and he finally looked at them, stunned at what he was seeing.

His two kidnappers looked like live action versions of Ninja Turtles without a made up suit and relatively more human. Both of them had webbed feet, a humanoid body, and hard shells on their back. Was this a costume? Baekhyun’s thoughts were abruptly brought to a halt with a loud grunt-like roar, similar to what he’d heard some time back, so he quickly moved, staggering to the nearby palm tree to relieve himself.   
  
The thought of escaping ran through his body, however, he was convinced he would die if he did decide to act on it, considering his captors were two definitely non-human beings. He forced himself to stay calm, and act smart if he wanted to survive. After using a few leaves around to clean himself, he made one move in the other direction and had his hair standing up from the loud noise he heard again, which was definitely aimed at him. Scared beyond his wits, Baekhyun dutifully walked towards the two ninja turtles and saw one of them being really smiley about something.

At least someone was enjoying Baekhyun’s misery.  
  
When he peeked into his cage, he soon realised why the smaller turtle was happier. The wet damp box had miraculously been replaced with a dried one, and a blanket accompanied it too, all for Baekhyun’s comfort. Baekhyun looked at the turtle or whatever he was, out of pure gratitude.   
  
“Get...in,” A voice croaked and Baekhyun realised it was from the older, angrier one. He dutifully got into the box, not knowing what life had in store for him. However, what happened next was definitely something he did not expect. 

Baekhyun saw through the peepholes that the turtles were now taking the box into the sea and as he saw the box along with himself, submerge deeper and deeper into the water, he hastily took in a breath to protect himself for when the water would fill in the space. To his surprise, not a single drop of water made its way into the box.. The wood didn’t even get damp! He sat there, wide-eyed and confused, breathing hastily as he realised oxygen was still in plenty. Once he got hold of the situation, he finally peeked through the holes while pinching his arm as if to wake himself up from a dream. 

Baekhyun felt like he’d entered Ariel’s home. Fishes and turtles were all around, some like the ninja turtles that had captured him, some normal. He even saw seahorses and various types of crabs. To his surprise, some half-human fishes and crabs as well. As they went deeper into the dark sea, he realised that the population dwindled and a vast array of rocky corals began. Then, it got darker and creepier.

In fact, there came a time when he could only hear his own breathing. Peering into the dark stretch of nothingness that lay in front of him as his vision became bleak. His heartbeat paced as a weird force pulled at his being and suddenly, he felt like he was thrown into nothingness, no body, no soul, just his mind. Floating in the ends of time, in the water, in space. Somewhere but nowhere. And then, he stopped breathing.

  
  
**_-The Neró Planíti-_ ** _  
  
_

_  
_ Baekhyun choked loudly, gasping for air as his vision returned slowly. His eyes tried to adjust as they feared sudden exposure to light, but thankfully, everything around him was still really damp and dark. He choked out some more water as he pushed himself to sit straight, his muscles creaking from the movement. He realised an added instrument, which now held him by his neck. 

It was a dog collar. At least something that resembled a dog collar, because when his fingers sprang ahead to touch and feel it, it reminded him of a scaly snake skin. The hair on the back of Baekhyun’s neck stood up as his stomach guttered at the feeling, and he began harshly banging on the wood, scared that he would puke on himself. Thankfully, his captors opened the lid just as quick. 

Baekhyun rose, holding onto the cage rim he coughed loudly, as if he’d just risen out of water and was saving himself from being suffocated. Once he was done with gasping and caught his breath, he scanned his surroundings. Everything was lit up but in a dull, muggy kind of away. 

There were weird creatures bustling around the dank place. It looked like it was 6:30 in the evening. The skies were bluish orange, and it was raining lightly. The air was fresher than what he’d ever breathed back at home. The surroundings, however, were really eerie.  
  
“W-Where are we?” He croaked. Realising his voice never came out, fear struck his heart as he massaged his throat. A hand offered him a greenish blue liquid, but he was still skeptical. Tracing where the offering hand came from, he realised it was the same ninja turtle that was kind enough to give him a blanket. The turtle urged him to take some, and Baekhyun hesitantly put the glass to his mouth. His tongue, unsure about the outcome, moved slowly as if testing the waters. Upon sipping it though, he realised it was similar to sweet nectar, close to honey. It was watery and light, but tasty. Baekhyun felt his throat open up immediately, so he drank more of it.   
  
“W-Where are we?” Baekhyun croaked once again and this time his voice, though dry and scaled, still reached the turtles’ ears .   
  
“Neptune,” The one who was usually always annoyed replied and the smaller turtle nodded his head.   
  
“Neptune? Which continent is this place in?” Baekhyun’s bewildered face posed to be entertainment for the two in front of him as he heard them chuckle and look at him with an amused expression.   
  
“It’s the planet Neptune,” This time, the nicer one of the two replied. Baekhyun would bash himself for even considering the adjective nice for one of his kidnappers, but that could wait for later, as for this moment, all that went around in his head was heightened confusion and pure terror.   
  
“P-Planet Neptune?” Baekhyun squawked. He then looked around once again and noticed how everything around him had a blue hue. All creatures around had an aspect of a sea animal. Every tree here looked like corals or seaweeds. His breath caught in his throat as he started palpitating again. Baekhyun glanced around once more, tiny differences catching his eyes as he realised that indeed it did not look nearly as close to the place back home.   
  
“Go back inside, earthling. We have to bring you to the kingdom,” The smaller turtle gleefully announced as he made Baekhyun sit back in his cage. The smaller’s tear-stricken and terrified face caught the reptile’s attention.   
  
“What’s wrong?” The sadness in his voice made Baekhyun’s lips quiver, but he held it in.

“P-Please don’t close the lid. I won’t shout or misbehave...I’m s-scared...” The tiny human whispered and instantly earned the sympathy of the kinder one. 

Baekhyun was given the courtesy to look at the sky, which was beautiful yet scary. He then realised that it had been raining continuously since he’d woken up, but he was still as dry as a bone. Even his cage, which he clearly saw the raindrops fall on, wasn’t getting wet.  
  
“My name is Jongdae. What is yours?” Baekhyun heard the kinder one try and start a conversation, but before Baekhyun could reply, he heard someone throw a punch. “There was no need for you to punch me, Tao!” Baekhyun heard the scowl in Jongdae’s voice.   
  
“What’s your name, Baekhyun?” Jongdae inquired again.   
  
“Dimwit, you just said his name!” Baekhyun now clearly heard the other voice, and it did not sound as scary as he imagined it to be. Jongdae, in response to the earlier remark, let out a loud happy laugh, “Oh, you’re right. Baekhyun, we actually did keep an eye on you for a few days, so we already know your name...anyway...how are you liking Neptune..?” The turtle still tried to get the smaller to speak.   
  
“Is this really the _Planet_ Neptune?” Baekhyun finally drew in courage to ask.

”Of course it is!” Jongdae gave out one more hearty laugh as Tao grumbled at the side.  
  
“B-but...Neptune does not have life?” Baekhyun’s confusion was not met with amusement but rather hums of approval. “You’re right. Life on Neptune is a secret. The magical murk makes it impossible for people to know that this planet is inhabited.”   
  
“M..murk?”   
  
“Jongdae, I don’t remember this guy paying you for a free tour. Instead, why don’t you do your job and walk quickly,” Tao ordered, but Jongdae just rolled his eyes, tapping musically onto Baekhyun’s cage as he frolicked.   
  
“Murk is the magical dark fog created by Poseidon to protect Neptune from the eyes of all aliens. Even other Gods and Goddesses themselves can’t see through it...” Jongdae recited as if the story was very common to most ears. Baekhyun’s eyes spiraled around, grasping the sight of weird creatures loitering around peacefully, minding their own business.   
  
“Poseidon??? Are you from Neptune, too?” Baekhyun was still confused as nothing made sense.   
  
“Yes, but we don’t live here. We’re smugglers, so we often keep jumping from one planet to another, smuggling things back to our kingdom.” The kinder turtle-man jumped as Tao rolled his eyes.   
  
“I would’ve loved to have a story time session, but we’ve got to cut it short. We’re already here!” Tao grumbled as he clawed at the rim of the cage with his flippers, and quickly closed off the lid they’d left open for so long. The last sight that the huge turtle caught was of the terrorized eyes of the human. He did feel bad, but it wasn’t like being generous would be enough to fill his stomach.   
  
  


  
**_-Setting Asail Neptune-_ **   
  
  


When Baekhyun felt the box that was used to trap him in being placed flat on the ground, he clutched onto his recently given blanket. He spied through the peepholes to see a beautiful palace covered in all possible shades of the ocean blues, some visually completely different, yet alike. The tiny man gasped as a fascinating room full of beautiful shells and conches stood before his eyes. The King’s throne was made of a Queen Conch shell, which somehow looked more elegant than anything the royal family back at home owned. Baekhyun stared in awe at the live water walls, which were completely see-through with the waves rippling through them.

Soon, through the constant background music of the pitter pattering rain, which Baekhyun had already grown weirdly accustomed to, a loud whale noise was heard as if announcing someone’s arrival. When Baekhyun concentrated on the current situation, he saw a sturdy but bloated body walking towards the throne. A jittery feeling hit his spine when he took in the entire appearance of the person in front of him. He saw a person walk in with a shade blue-ish hue for his skin, that looked like it was fading, but more daunting was the fact that there were tentacles blooming around his waist like a flower shaped skirt, covering his essential parts, but still moving. Moving enough to let Baekhyun see the pair of feet that helped the man walk. The man’s face was broody but his sharp expressions and dautingly handsome uncovered body added a lot to his appearance. Baekhyun’s perception took a hit, however, when he instantly felt a tentacle zoom out from the person’s body and smack the shit out of the box he was in. The force threw the lid off and out rolled Baekhyun, covered in a blanket, shivering and trying his best to hide himself from the whole line of creatures that entered his vision now that he wasn’t in an enclosed space with limited vision.   
  
“What is this weak trash of an alien that you’ve brought to the kingdom this time?” The person, who Baekhyun now realised was the King, bellowed.   
  
“Your Highness-” Tao tried to intervene but was smacked and blown off by yet another tentacle.   
  
“Your standards are going down moon by moon! Get this rotten junk out of my sight right now!” Another tentacle shot out, aimed clearly at the shivering Baekhyun when Jongdae cleverly thwarted the attack with the help of his shell, before gracefully smirking.   
  
“This is not junk, Your Highness, this is an alien earthling.”   
  
“This...this small fragile thing is an earthling?” The agonising wrath in the eye of the king dimmed and his tentacles danced vivaciously around his attractive body out of pure excitement.   
  
“Yes sir, one of its kind, the most beautiful of the beautiful, the only one appropriate for a family as high as yours.” Jongdae put on a fake smile while doing his best to shield Baekhyun. Tao’s pained grumbles could be heard as he got up too and bowed down to the king even though he was smacked into the waterlike walls just a few seconds ago. The King pondered over it for a second and then motioned for someone to carry out a task. Baekhyun flinched as soon as the similar sound of a whale sounded throughout the entire castle.   
  
Whispers immediately ran around the court filled with all specimens as they eyed and flocked around themselves, excitement running wild in their veins. Baekhyun did not realise that he’d clasped Jongdae’s leg from behind until the kind turtle turned around just to send him a polite smile. The turtle’s attention was, however, stolen when suddenly loud cheers from the crowd were heard and Baekhyun’s eyes finally found the reason behind all the commotion.   
  
Before them stood a replica of the species that the snouty king belonged to, but they were bigger, more chiseled, and much more unrealistically beautiful. He noticed how all three of them, who stood in front of the court, were tall in their hunky glory and had their tentacles reacting and coloured in a way that showcased their personality. One was shorter than the other two, hair cut precisely short, his chest strong and firm but not as maintained as the other two, his eyes were big and lips shaped like a heart. His body was bluish in colour too, but it had speckles of grey here and there. His tentacles were much thicker than the others’, but were quiet and civilised as if waiting for an order from their master. The one standing next to him was a little taller than the previous, eyes kinder, body sturdy and strong, every ab carved delicately as his tentacles moved slowly and shyly as if replicating his personality. His blue-ish hue was tinged with specks of yellow, reminding everyone of the sun. 

The third and the last one next to the two was huge, almost a giant, his body sturdier and much taller than any of the specimens in the kingdom present there. The man’s chest was ripped, his arms shredded and body glazed as if glowing from the mere reflection of his presence. He was beautiful but also scary beyond doubts. His body, though bluish, was accompanied with the blood red specks on his tentacles and their constant vivacious fiery movements put forth what a daunting presence he had. Baekhyun gulped as he suddenly made eye contact with the said man and noticed his tight jaws that clearly depicted how annoyed he was with the entire setting.  
  
“Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, pay your respects to the court!” The King bellowed again, and the shorter one and the scarier one next to him bowed. “My sons appreciate everyone’s presence here! And so does my nephew, Jongin!” The shy sunny persona bowed too, blinding the crowd with his timid smile.   
  
“Boys, we have an alien earthling amongst us for the first time ever! We should definitely thank the two men who brought this alien here today!” The sudden happiness in the King's voice made Baekhyun’s heart tremble with fear, he tightened his grip on Jongdae’s leg, trying to hide himself behind him and moved further into the blanket. Jongdae was, however, busy smirking at the King’s sudden change in attitude.   
  
“Which one of you would like him as a pet?” The King boasted again. 

When Baekhyun’s frightened face emerged from behind Jongdae’s leg, he noticed how the hugest of the giants was staring right into his soul while the sunny one looked sorry for Baekhyun’s fate. The shortest one, Kyungsoo, actually had his fingers on his jaw, as if imagining or thinking about something deep.  
  
“It would be wonderful for me to have an alien as a pet, father, especially an earthling. He could help me with my projects,” Kyungsoo spoke, his heavy and grainy voice catching Baekhyun by surprise. The smaller’s eyes immediately went to the King’s happy ones and his body shivered.   
  
“Of course, Soo! The early octopus always gets the crab!” The king chuckled at his own words and called for Jongdae to do what was needed. 

Finally, the half turtle turned to look at Baekhyun with a somber expression, as he pulled the smaller to his feet. Baekhyun quickly held onto his hands, eyes silently pleading for him to be saved. The turtle sighed as he brushed a palm across Baekhyun’s soft hair but then proceeded to jerk the snakeskin collar he’d made earlier and lead Baekhyun towards the three standing pillars. 

As he was being dragged closer to the audience, Baekhyun felt even more exposed because of the way they looked at him in a weird and frightening way. When the human was reluctant to take the last step, Jongin realised the problem.  
  
“Don’t worry, Alien. This smuggler here keeps visiting the Kingdom every week with new atrocious things. You’ll see him often.” Though Jongin said it with a straight face, his voice conveyed gentle words. Jongdae, too, nodded and promised Baekhyun that he’d always keep an eye on him. The terrified human took in a huge sigh and cursed at his own stupidity when he realised he was looking towards his own kidnapper (for god’s sake) to feel secure.   
  
“This alien is YOUR pet! Not the other way round!” The king blared at Jongin, making everyone flinch a little.

Ignoring the outburst, Jongdae slowly handed over the leash to Kyungsoo and after ruffling Baekhyun’s hair one more time, he departed from the scene with Tao in line.  
  
  
 **_\- Discovering the undiscovered -_ **

Baekhyun had goosebumps all over his body as each step he took creaked in the dimly lit hallway. His nostrils cringed at the musky smell that surrounded him. The constant rain and moisture in the air were probably the biggest factors that made every place here smell this way.   
  
“Is anyone there?” Kyungsoo loudly spoke to the darkness ahead of them, commanding for the presence, if any, to come forward. Baekhyun flinched from being startled by Kyungsoo’s sudden enquiry but then whimpered when his own action caused the belt around his neck to tighten. The demon in front of him paid no heed as he continued to drag his pet after making sure no one lurked in the shadows. It had been a good 5 minutes since they were walking in this underground dungeon and the fluttering tentacles that lathered the man’s legs as he walked, were still something Baekhyun stole glances of every now and then. He was so astonished with them that he only realised the man in front of him had stopped, when a loud noise of metal doors being opened, startled him.   
  
“This is your home from now on.” Kyungsoo’s rough and terrifying voice made Baekhyun tremble. The smaller was pulled by his collar as the prince shoved him inside a rickety, prison-like room.   
  
“Tomorrow, 7am, I’ll be back. Till then, sleep if you can.'' Kyungsoo firmly locked the door as he left the human in the lonesome chamber. 

Once everything stilled and silence overcame, Baekhyun realised the breathing noises that came from similar chambers near his. The hair on his neck stood up as he realised he was alone with a bunch of unfamiliar creatures. He swiftly recoiled into the corner of the prison, shivering and anxious of every movement and noise that came from around him. He didn’t even realise when he’d passed out from fright. The loud clunk of the metal doors however, woke him up. 

Before him stood a man similar to Jongdae’s species,but much bigger than him. He pulled at Baekhyun’s arm harshly, yanking him out of his reverie and dragging him outside. They finally stopped in an open space akin to a garden.  
  
“Good morning, Alien.” Kyungsoo’s voice sent a quiver down Baekhyun’s spine as he slowly looked over to the place that the voice came from. Kyungsoo sat on his armchair, which looked like it was made out of some plants you’d see in the sea. However, after sleeping on the hauntingly hard floor, even this looked very warm and inviting for Baekhyun. If the human’s memory served him right, next to Kyungsoo stood an apologetic Jongin(?). Baekhyun didn’t quite remember the names from the day before. 

The man’s face, however, was emitting a friendly aura. 

Baekhyun’s eyes subconsciously searched from the vexed third wheel of the trio but his hunt was unsuccessful. The man who’d dragged him before, still stood behind him as if the tiny frail human could harm these scary creatures.  
  
“So, what powers do you have?” Kyungsoo asked. Even Jongin’s face now showed interest. When Baekhyun declined having any, the shorter one looked at him confused.   
  
“You dare lie to me?”   
  
“Kyungsoo...calm down...we have a lot of time to find out...” Jongin quickly moved to place a hand on the other’s shoulder, pressing it, as if a sign for the prince to maintain his composure. Kyungsoo sighed as he finally got up with his bare chest on full display. Baekhyun cowered at the sight. He was not used to men with such gorgeous bodies going around all muscled up and stripped.   
  
“Yes, right. We do have a lot of time to find out.” Kyungsoo’s wicked voice did not sit well with the feeling at the pit of Baekhyun’s stomach. Suddenly, a pair of rich white Adidas shoes were thrown in his face, surprising the human. How on Neptune had they managed to have one here? Did Adidas have an outlet here, too? That was plain stupid. Baekhyun’s confused face was taken as his stupidity when Kyungsoo angrily rebuked him to put them on. Baekhyun had no option but to. 

The dim light of knowledge then flickered while putting them on as he retraced the information Jongdae had provided. This was probably one of their smuggled goods from the Earth. Baekhyun was surprised with how they fit well, even though he didn’t remember giving his size details.  
  
“On Neptune, we have a ‘Magoi’ who betwitches human made things so they work for everyone. We have very limited supply, you see...”Jongin kindly answered Baekhyun’s unasked question. Baekhyun meekly nodded   
  
“Magoi is a magician in your earthling terms,” Kyungsoo answered like a know-it-all, his eyes rolling as if explaining even this to the smaller was beyond his level. Baekhyun remembered Kyungsoo’s keen interest in him and figured that the prince was probably interested and fascinated with how things worked on Earth.   
  
“Now, go. Run. Let me see how fast you can go!” The prince commanded all of a sudden, confusing the human. When Baekhyun did not start running, Kyungsoo snarled at him with a dark expression and the human was on his feet, doing the best he could.   
  
  
It had been 6 hours since he started running. Every bone in his body had begun to hurt. He’d not even eaten well nor had any water left in his body. The skin on his hand had also bristled and looked frail as if withering away from the dryness. Baekhyun looked at the sun that was now setting. He could not even figure out how time worked on this planet, but the days seemed to be shorter than back home. His throat choked from the dust that entered his lungs. 

The last thing he remembered was seeing the 3rd brutal prince from far away as he strode on his horse towards the direction of the kingdom. Baekhyun thought he saw him turn and look at him but maybe he was hallucinating because the next thing he knew he found himself on the ground, his lips stained from the unruly orangish blue mud and his fingers trying to catch onto the soil to steady himself. Sadly, they were too weak to sustain, so he let himself collapse.  
  
\-----

The human woke up to the darkness of his scary chamber again, he tried moving but his body hurt from exhaustion, his throat was hurt from the dryness and his vision also seemed blurry. It was likely that he would die out of dehydration so recoiling into the piece of cloth that was laid for him, Baekhyun waited for death to take over.  
  
The sudden shrill of the oxidized gate however, sent a few shivers through his body. His part-befogged vision could grasp only two heavy feet that came his way. He was reluctant to cast the intruder a glance, but was manhandled onto the floor. Fear took over every single vein of his body, as his eyes quickly moved to put a face to the body towering over him. It was the same man who had dragged him down in the morning. 

Baekhyun had weird thoughts run through his mind, when the man-turtle in front of him grunted as he stashed a clothed and grim bottle in his chest. The mild force was almost strong enough enough to puncture it. The human looked back at the man confused, but realised that the bottle was heavy and filled. The dehydration took the better off him as he quickly decapped it to gulp down the liquid. It was similar to the first drink that was ever offered to him by Jongdae and with just a single gulp, Baekhyun’s entire body lightened as if regaining power. He kept sipping as if his body ached for every drop of it. The guard in front of him grunted again, as he threw a pair of clothes, nothing too rich but much better than what his muddled self was wearing.  
  
“Wear. The Prince is coming.” The man spoke in short sentences.

Baekhyun rushed to pick them, but then keenly looked back at the other, expecting him to be given some privacy. However, no matter how much Baekhyun stared, the person did not move an inch and only muttered a “Do it quickly” instead.  
  
“Can you at least look away?” Baekhyun pleaded, but it was to no avail. So the human turned, heart thundering and face red from embarrassment as he stripped, highly aware of the eyes on his back.   
  
He was only a second away from putting on his shirt, when he heard loud shuffles around the corridors.   
  
“Enjoying yourself I see?”Baekhyun heard Kyungsoo ask the guard, and quickly pulled the shirt onto himself as he turned. He saw the guard already bowing in the Prince’s presence and followed suit. Kyungsoo tsked, but moved and so did Baekhyun, thanks to the guard who had clasped onto his arms and was now dragging him along. They were back to the same ground as the one in the morning. Baekhyun’s entire body began hurting from the mere thought of having to run again.   
  
“What power are you hiding from me, human?” Kyungsoo filled himself a glass of shiny green liquid. When he didn’t get his response, his brow jumped as if daring Baekhyun to stay mum.   
  
“I d-don’t have any powers,” The smaller answered quickly. He realised that if he wasn’t quick to do so the consequences would be worse. The guard’s grip on his hand was a clear indicator. Baekhyun remained standing, his gaze soft but directed towards the floor. Celebratory cheers were heard from somewhere far away, and that caught Baekhyun’s attention, his eyes roamed only to find a gathering at an open-air tableland. The courtyard was surrounded with pristine statues and pretty females dancing all around. Baekhyun realised it was a party of the elites as his eyes landed upon Jongin and a few similar faces he’d chanced upon from the box, at the time of his first experience in the court.   
  
Baekhyun’s eyes traced the outlines of the celebration when he chanced upon a stern figure who happened to be looking in their direction. The smaller’s heart stepped up a little from suddenly being caught looking at something he shouldn’t have.   
  
“Keep your attention here!” Kyungsoo announced, irritated as he stood up. The fire in his eyes made Baekhyun shudder. The Prince commanded the human to showcase his powers again and received the same annoying answer. Apparently, a wrong move. The next thing Baekhyun felt was the hard punch that was thrown at his jaw. He groaned out loud as it hurt ten times more than a knuckle, he realised why, when he saw the tentacle that had punched him unclench, at same time the warm red liquid pooled in his mouth.   
  
“You want me to believe that for hundreds of years, we lived in the fear of you imbeciles for nothing?” Kyungsoo spit out, as his anger aggravated his salivary glands, the vein that throbbed in his eyes made the Baekhyun;s insides shiver. “I am asking nicely, tell me what you can do, and I will be lenient.”   
  
“I really don’t know what you’re talking abou-” Another punch, harder than before, was aimed at his gut and Baekhyun choked on the blood accumulated in his mouth from the previous assault. 

“Come on, show it to me, blast me away, blind me with light, torch me with fire, DO SOMETHING YOU DUNCE!” Kyungsoo blared at him, rage equivalent to a bull’s. He provoked the other in the hopes of the unlikely. The human, frail and already at the loss of words, struggled to stand up, being a mere powerless mortal, there was very little to do.   
  
When he saw the tentacle swinging once again, he shut his eyes tightly as he prepared himself for the blow. 

  
It was just a centimetre away, when he felt the tentacle stop abruptly. It’s force made the air around them flip across the smaller’s face. The realisation of how close he was to being hit, madea mark on Baekhyun’s consciousness. The human opened his eyes and noticed that the Prince’s attention was averted to the scene that had unfolded at the gathering nearby.

Kyungsoo had turned around and Baekhyun understood why, as he noticed the sudden halt in the proceedings of the party. The human now confused, glanced over to the paused procession and shivered, from fear and embarrassment as he saw who stood frowning in his direction. The tall guarded Prince of the 3 with his knuckles clenched tight enough to break the table they were denting, glared in his direction. The ladies and people around the said man were all conscious of the man’s mood and had immediately stopped doing what they were, scared to not offend him.

Kyungsoo smiled devilishly as he waved to his brother, making the other tighten his jaw. 

“Chanyeol! Are you having fun, enjoying the entertainment that I’m providing?” The short prince pranced around, acting like royalty while questioning his brother. The sheer discomfort and embarrassment of the situation made fat, gleamy tears spring out from the human’s eyes, making his sight even blurrier than before. “Don’t worry, you continue your party! I’m not going to stop anytime soon.”   
  
As soon as Kyungsoo had finished his sentence, mere seconds later Baekhyun was punched, earning a loud applause from the crowd, most of whom probably had no idea about how to react with the awkwardness in the air. “See I’m just playing with my pet!” Kyungsoo laughed as he aimed the next punch at Baekhyun’s jaw and sent him flying to the ground. 

Baekhyun’s last hope was gone as his eyes caught onto the sight of the sturdy figure who looked like he was walking away. The night however, continued with unwelcomed displays of Kyungsoo’s power.   
\----   
  
“HE’S USELESS! ARE WE SURE WE DIDN’T GET A DUD?” Kyungsoo yelled as he banged his desk loudly. Baekhyun, who sat hunched on the floor, at his feet, shivered, his body already hurting from everything that had been done to him in the past days. He still managed to look up sadly when Jongin’s ever apologetic face peeked from behind Kyungsoo’s outraged one. 

The Prince and his cousin were miles apart when it came to anything and everything.  
  
“He cannot do anything! He cannot teleport, he cannot control the wind, he cannot even run well, I made him do everything, had him be fed to insects, suffocated him with vines, everything! He’s not a human, Jongin!” Kyungsoo’s voice was exasperated as he looked all around, Meanwhile Baekhyun re-lived the horrors that he’d been through the past week.   
  
“Kyungs--” Jongin’s remark was cut short when 5 men suddenly walked towards them, carrying in a huge glass tank. It was traced with wood linings all around and something about it was already scaring Baekhyun.   
  
“Yes! Right on time!” Kyungsoo’s eyes brightened up like a maniac, just like every other time he tried to do something to torture the smaller. The human looked at Jongin in horror, hopeful that at least he could do something about it. 

  
“Kyungsoo...what is this?” Jongin questioned as he calmly went around studying the new adjustment. They were in the same garden Baekhyun was dragged to on the first day, and every other day, where Kyungsoo made his life hell with his lab/garden experiments.   
  
“You’ll see...come on you, put him inside!!” Kyungsoo commanded, and terror filled Baekhyun’s body when he was hauled inside the huge box as if he weighed nothing. 

The smaller was confused at first, but then realised how heat had suddenly started biting at his skin. The glass container was huge, so it was easy to notice the bluish green flame that caught on to one corner. Baekhyun’s pupils dilated when he realised how quickly it began spreading. He squabbled over to the extreme corner on the opposite side, fear in his eyes quite noticeable as he saw the flames grow bigger. His weak human heart thudded, when he could feel the heat even on the rim of his ear.   
  
Baekhyun started pounding on the glass walls, his eyes filled with trepidation as he frantically sobbed and howled for someone to save him. He searched for Jongin and cried louder when he saw the other being held by the demon Prince. Baekhyun’s cries apparently were too loud and piercingly harsh and he saw more and more creatures surround them. His agitation which was quite clear in his guttural sobs for help, seemingly acted as their source of entertainment.

In that moment he realised that this was probably the end of it. It hurt him to think that his short human life was coming to an end as an experiment on some planet which was probably made up. He even conjured up a thought of this having been a dream and if he burned up to the flesh and died, maybe that would wake him up.   
  
  


The sting of the burn was getting worse, as he suffocated from the lack of oxygen in the glass box. He breathlessly choked, still clumsily hitting the glass, screeching for anyone, just anyone to get him out.  
  
Baekhyun’s consciousness was dwindling when suddenly a loud crash startled him. In front of him was a writhing huge tentacle that had broken the tank into two pieces separating the fire spitting part away from him. The sudden gulp of air, had Baekhyun’s lungs choking, not knowing how to react as his reflexes dizzied.   
  
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” A loud tormented voice blared, a voice Baekhyun had never heard before. The loud gasps around were an indication of the fact that whoever the person was, people were scared of him.

Baekhyun was too exhausted from the trauma and his frail body was too weak to move. The floundering tentacle found its way to him, it’s first touch on his arm, sizzled as the cold freezing limb came in contact with the smaller’s steaming skin. Baekhyun sighed out of pure comfort that the small touch sent across his heated body. The tentacle moved suddenly around his waist and he was pulled out of the scary blithering place. 

Baekhyun could breathe in only some oxygen from all the dust, since he was suddenly smashed across someone’s sturdy and huge chest. Two or three more tentacles wound themselves around his body, as the freezing touch sent calmness through his veins, Baekhyun’s arms clutched onto the man in front of him, breathing in low but spacy breaths. The tentacles, in a span of seconds, covered his entire body, shadowing him away from the rest of the world, hiding his despicable state from the eyes of all.  
  
“I ASKED WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” The blood curling voice icily asked again.   
  
“C-Cha..Cha-Chanyeol, I w-was just….” This was the first time Baekhyun heard Kyungsoo stammer or lose his unruffled stance.   
  
“How dare you treat this alien with such thoughtlessness? Father said he was your pet, not someone you torture ‘till they die!” Chanyeol hissed with an intimidating voice. 

The words made an impact on Baekhyun as he scrunched his eyes, and tried his best to control his feelings, but after the continuous turmoil he had faced every day and lonely scared nights he’d spent in those chambers, when he finally heard someone act like he mattered, even if it was just by 0.01%, Baekhyun found himself losing his composure and soft, wet sobs made their way through his throat. Baekhyun’s struggling body finally collapsed on the sturdy chest, his restraint broken to the core as he weeped. Chanyeol’s body suddenly went rigid when he realised the whimpering mess on his chest. His not-so- occupied tentacle rushed over to soothe and calm the crying boy by rubbing warm circles on his back.   
  
“Until you learn how to treat your pet, he will stay with Jongin.” Chanyeol’s eyes darkened, as he made sure his words sounded threatening.   
  
“B-But cousin, I already have a pet...that...game-watch... That tama-gotchi...Am I saying it right?” Jongin spoke, suddenly catching the entire crowd’s attention.   
  
“Chanyeol...I promise, I’ll be a little more lenient with him. You of all, know how much I’ve wanted to study earthlings and how much…” Kyungsoo tried to reason out, finding a chance in Jongin’s inaptness.   
  
“If Jongin can’t keep him, I’ll keep the alien till you learn your boundaries. You should’ve not made this mistake in the first place if this really meant that much to you.” Chanyeol’s tone indicated no place for arguments. He then sent a glare all around to the spectators of the commotion, rendering them scared as they hurried back to their own jobs.   
  
Realising the whimpering small body was still stuck to him like glue, Chanyeol withdrew his tentacles, only to show a small man clinging to his wide,raw chest like a sticker. Chanyeol stood there quite unaware of what he should do next to get the alien off himself. He didn’t have to muse much on it, as slowly and carefully the smaller let go off him.   
  
Baekhyun reluctantly stepped back and looked up into the eyes of the Prince that had just saved him. The smaller swore he saw a change of emotions in the man’s eyes, however, it wasn’t much for him to be able to name the emotion. The human expected a word or two directed towards him because the giant had just saved him from brutal death, but all he got was the side view, as the Prince took a swift turn.

The huge back muscles pierced into Baekhyun’s soul as he saw the man walk away. The human’s insides curled when he realised that maybe he would have to go back to Kyungsoo’s prison. When his soul shivered at the thought, panic took over as his eyes decided to glance. 2 guards with similar red specks on their tentacles like Chanyeol’s but not as evident as his, were surrounding him. 

When Baekhyun took a step, they moved too, initially he got scared but then he realised that the taller had apparently appointed guards for him, without even giving an order. Having been deprived of care or any emotions close to that of feeling since he stepped foot here, this kind act of the Prince made unknown feelings rise up in his stomach.  
  
  
\------   
  
Baekhyun was led back to a chamber filled with the colours of pristine blue. A visible contrast to the grim and dark cage he was living in since the day he stepped foot on this planet. The Prince who had just saved him was however, nowhere to be seen.

“You must be...the human.” A placid voice interrupted his thoughts. A man stood in front of him, dressed in enough armour, to exude a superior aura. The person bowed to show his respect, startling the human. This was the first time Baekhyun received something akin to a normal greeting.  
  


His eyes did a once over when he realised the creature standing in front of him, no matter how human looking, still had scales on his skin, very similar to that of a fish. They weren’t very noticeable at the first glance, but if anyone paid attention then they could easily note the difference in texture. When the man turned to bow so as to show his knowledge of the other two guards leaving, Baekhyun could see the long dorsal fin that started from the person’s neck, breathed through the clothes of the man and went along his spine till the end of his back. For the past few days, he’d seen too many of these unbelievable creatures to let this affect him. It was no lie that the person in front of him was a handsome specimen. 

Baekhyun felt his insides churn when the man looked back at him. A soft smile played on the person’s pouty lips, his long nose scrunched as his cheeks hollowed just a little.  
  
“I am Sehun, the Prince’s personal guard, I’ve been commanded to get you to his chambers, once you’re done dressing up”   
  
Baekhyun looked at Sehun confused, but the soft clothes the guard held in his hands seemed to clear his doubts. Baekhyun’s hand shivered as he reached out to collect them. He assumed Sehun would not budge just like the old dungeon guard, so he began stripping the next second. The human missed how Sehun’s eyes bulged. When Baekhyun spared him a glance, that's when he realised that the guard had turned away to toot at the room’s big curtains. A flush ran across the human’s body as he quickly put on his clothes. 

The soft fabric felt similar to a fairy’s touch.

Sehun didn’t speak a word, until the rustling of the clothes behind him had stopped. He took it as a sign that the human was done. The guard didn’t look like he would be a person to be affected by nudity but the flush across his pink cheeks was a surprise. Baekhyun felt more than embarrassed for it, but without a word let himself be led to wherever the guard was taking him.  
  
“I..thought... that even you– This is not normally what I do.” Baekhyun muttered midway, bringing Sehun to a halt. The guard lifted his eyebrow to indicate that he had no idea what the human was referring to.

Baekhyun felt his cheeks redden up as his fingers held onto the soft fabric. “I d-don’t just strip in front of someone..I just...met.” Sehun smiled, a reaction too pure for Baekhyun to affiliate with the picture he had built of this planet. Without saying a word, the guard nodded, getting back to his stride. 

The human was at a loss of words when he stepped in front of the Prince’s chamber. His room that he’d thought was akin to royalty, just a few minutes back looked like a servant cell as compared to the grandeur that stood in front of him. Sehun chuckled at the obvious awe in the human’s eyes.

  
When he was finally led inside, Baekhyun found himself fidgeting when he finally stood in front of the Prince. His fingers clenched and nervousness cramped up his insides. The robust huge specimen in front of him, sat on a desk made of huge crystal blue basalt rocks. His slithering tentacles moved around as if they had their own will. 

Baekhyun assumed Sehun would begin a conversation, but as he stood there confused for 10 minutes more, he glanced at the guard questioning the atmosphere, in return he just received a dull nod.

After what seemed like 15 minutes, Baekhyun heard the Prince sigh and it seemed like he had finally finished scribbling whatever he was inspecting. Immediately, the human found his insides glitching when the heavy powerful gaze of the man found him. It seemed as if he was taking his time filtering every bruise and mark on Baekhyun’s skin, making the human cower his head from anxiousness.

  
“Sehun...” The gruff and heavy, yet calm voice surprised Baekhyun. The only time he’d heard the man ever speak was when he combusted on his brother earlier. 

“Yes, your highness?” The polite guard was quick to answer, making Baekhyun even more nervous. 

“This Alien…” Chanyeol stopped, his eyebrows jutted together, lips in a slight unnoticeable pout making it clear that a thought had flagged his mind. “Do you have a name, human?” Baekhyun’s neck almost hurt from how quick he had looked up, his entire being thudded due to an unknown reason. Well, it wasn’t really unknown, It was probably because things that were so normal back at home, like someone referring to him as Baekhyun and not an alien seemed too long back.  
  
“B-Baekhyun, your highness.” Baekhyun bowed. He’d learnt in quite a short time learnt how people addressed higher ups. The Prince nodded, his gaze still heavy on the small and frail human’s shoulders, which were now hunched as his eyes traced the floor. 

“Baekhyun...is our pet now...I assume you have already taken care of his wounds?” The Prince asked nonchalantly, while Sehun bowed, answering him with a nod.  
  
“Pets are...to be fed, sheltered, protected and played with….right?” The calm polite voice, completely in contrast to the scary and powerful demeanor asked. 

Baekhyun only realised that the question was aimed at him, when Sehun nudged him in the side. He was too late to answer however, because he heard the movement of the Prince ruggedly getting up and making his way towards them. He cursed himself for angering the man but the warm fingers that tickled his chin took him by surprise. He did not dare raise his head, too scared to know what was awaiting him.  
  
“Pets need affection too...you humans have many rules for pets...am I doing this right?” The Prince’s voice was so close to his ears, that it made a shiver run through Baekhun’s body. The fingers continued to scratch his chin. 

The unknown warmth made the human look up into the eyes of the Prince, his own glistening with feelings too unexplored to explain. The confusion that spread on the other’s face was too much for Baekhyun’s heart. “Am I doing it wrong?” The voice asked before the movement of the fingers stopped. Baekhyun quickly shook his head and a soft, vague smile, almost too short to be defined as one, spread across the Prince’s face.  
  
“Very well then, Sehun, take him back, feed him, bathe him and bring him to my chambers two times a moon so I can let him be in my presence. According to what I read in one of Kyungsoo’s books, It is said pets get depressed if they aren’t shown affection or left without any company.” Chanyeol’s words sounded very different to the stoic hard expression he had on his face. 

Though Baekhyun flinched at the mention of Kyungsoo’s name, the mention of food had his stomach growling. He didn’t even realise when he was led out but he found himself back in his own cell as Sehun stocked his cupboard. In a span of 20 minutes, delicious smelling food was brought to his room, most of it was seafood, not really a surprise for the human. Seeing the spread he realised, It had been so long since he ate something which was appealing to the eyes and smelt so good. The result being that the bath which Sehun had set up for him was forgotten. 

The guard scrunched his cheeks, purely out of satisfaction of seeing the frail creature in front of him, ravaging the food like a monster. Once Baekhyun had eaten to his stomach’s desire, he found himself bathing. It seemed like it had been months, since he felt satisfied, if not happy. He finally was out of the grimy smelling clothes and looked like himself.  
  
Sehun left him to his thoughts just after, when Baekhyun found himself collapsing on the bed,his last thought being, “Was Chanyeol referring to him as a dog, equivalent to a pet?” His insides giggled along with him at the sheer comedy, but he was too tired to continue it further. The feeling of the soft breeze and the warm bed after ages, had him snoring in seconds.   
  
\------   
  
The coldness at the tip of his nose and the constant urge to itch it, was the only factor that drove Baekhyun to sigh loudly, as he tried hard to open his eyes. He didn’t know how long he’d slept, but his body felt stiff. He wanted to stretch but the more he tried, the painful it got. He realised that this was probably the longest, or rather, the best sleep he’d had in a while.   
  
“Oh...you’re awake?” Sehun moved to help the human sit better. Baekhyun’s body still ached from having not moved much and his legs felt numb. “You slept for quite a long time...It’s been almost 3 moons, His Highness was getting a bit worried.” The human’s eyes shone as his ears wiggled at the mention of the person.   
  
“The Prince was asking for me?” Only a nod came his way, as Sehun moved around, piling towels and clothes around the room and his cupboards. Baekhyun’s eyes swiftly followed the movements of the guard as he stretched and moved a little to flex around. A small giggle hit his ears and he looked back at Sehun suspiciously, his eyebrows bouncing to question the guard. 

“Nothing...it’s just my first time seeing the Prince this...riled up over an object.” the guard muttered as he ruffled his own hair. The question of what object he was referring to was at the tip of the human’s tongue, but his mind answered him instead.  
  
“I am not an object...I am... Baekhyun.” The human grumbled, but his stomach was louder making the guard chuckle yet again. 

“Let’s get you something to eat?”   
  
\----   
  
After having gulped down the food at the speed of light, Sehun suggested for them to take a walk. So much food and hardly any movements were not good for the human body, he’d said. So now, Baekhyun trailed behind the guard as they walked slowly around the huge castle. No matter how many times the smaller saw it, the beauty always surprised him. 

Baekhyun’s thoughts halted abruptly when his head thumped against the broad back of the guard. The human hissed a bit but moved aside rubbing his forehead. His anxiousness hit a high, when the Prince in his royal glory stood before him his robes and ever exuberant tentacles made him look as godly as ever.   
  
“You’re awake I see.” The heavy voice made the hair on Baekhyun’s neck stand as he slightly nodded to answer. “Very well, I’ll be free in an hour, should we meet then?” Another question came his way to which Sehun answered by agreeing. The Prince was riled over him? My foot, Baekhyun thought as he saw the Prince looked just as calm and as unbothered as a stone. 

Before anything else could even be brought up, Chanyeol had taken his exit while his puny little assistants followed.  
  
\--   
  


Baekhyun’s body shivered when Sehun dragged him to the same field that Kyungsoo used to. The bad memories and trauma made him sweat but seeing that Sehun pulled him in the opposite direction of the seat Kyungsoo had occupied, calmed him down a little. 

They walked towards the sideline where some trees were bent in a way that made it look as if it were a gate. Baekhyun walked through it and there in the middle of the trees lay a small open seating area no less royal than any other place in this Kingdom. A long table that settled in between this paradise now hosted Chanyeol as he sat there, awaiting them, his expressions, just as sombre as ever.  
  
“Your Highness.” Sehun bowed, and Baekhyun followed as if he was his younger brother.   
  
“Thank you Sehun. You can leave us now.” Chanyeol’s command was enough to scare the shit out of the human, as his thoughts rushed to increase his anxiety. The panicked eyes found the calm ones of the guard who just smiled crescents back at him. Sehun rubbed his palm over Baekhyun’s back to convey that it was all going to be fine.   
  
The human gulped as he stood there, not knowing where to look. His fingers scratched his supple palms to keep himself occupied. He then heard some rustling on the ground and his eyes shot over to the blue tentacle that had slithered over. Baekhyun’s being screamed on the inside. but he held his ground. Even with Kyungsoo, he’d never shown a weak side until his life was in danger. The human flinched a little when the tentacle caught onto his leg only to wriggle around it and tug him. The small action made him shift his gaze to the Prince and he wished he hadn’t because the way Chanyeol looked at him scared Baekhyun even more.   
  
“Come here.” The heavy voice ordered and Baekhyun moved, only to suddenly halt when his own involuntary action registered in his mind, a tad bit late. The confused pout of the Prince should have made the human weak in his knees but Baekhyun’s mind was elsewhere.   
  
“What’s wrong?” The Prince shifted in his seat, quite curious about the human’s actions. 

  
“Are y-you going to...probe me?” Baekhyun’s scared heart made him hiccup.

“What??? No... I won't. In fact, I will not even touch you without permission. Apologies for my behaviour.” Chanyeol instantly replied while retracing his tentacle. Baekhyun immediately noticed the loss of touch, but his eyes never left the Prince’s.

When Chanyeol motioned for him to come closer again, the smaller moved but was still skeptical about the entire ordeal. What confused him even more was when the Prince patted his own thighs, as if calling for the human to sit on it. Reaching closer, Baekhyun stood there confused beyond doubt. Chanyeol patted his thigh once again, as his furrowed eyebrows conveyed his impatience.   
  
“I a-am sorry Your Highness, but I don’t understand?” Baekhyun placed forth his query, not at all expecting the answer he got. 

“Isn’t this how it’s supposed to be? I’ve seen Kyungsoo’s picture books.” Chanyeol answered, his expression pretty serious. Baekhyun’s face immediately flushed as he realised what the Prince expected of him.  
  
“Do you not want to? Am I not being a good owner?” Chanyeol’s hardly noticeable downward pout was enough for Baekhyun to quickly shake his head, cursing his own self. 

The pout went back to a stare as he was motioned to sit on the Prince’s thigh once more. Not seeing any other escape or rather, just scared he’ll be sent back to Kyungsoo, if he denied this request, Baekhyun obeyed. His cheeks blushed and neck sweated when his round soft buttcheeks rested against the sturdy and muscular thigh.The human shuddered when he could feel a tentacle, almost breathing down his face.  
  
“Can I pet you?” Another question was heaved onto his ears as his insides shrunk at the closeness. Baekhyun found himself nodding. Nothing prepared him for the smack that came next. 

The human felt like he almost blacked out when he looked back at the Prince, surprised and shocked.   
  
“Should it be harder than this?” The prince asked not sure what to make of the other’s alarmed expression.

“NO! Definitely not...It...hurt…” Baekhyun squirmed as he rubbed his neck that had been just smacked, bewildered at the suddenness. He flinched when the tentacle once again reached out for his hair, but calmed down when it just patted him, a little less hard than the last time. The pats grew but everytime the tentacle came near him, he couldn’t help but flinch.  
  
“Is something the matter, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked and Baekhyun’s eyes shot up, chasing the Prince’s as he shifted a bit to look back at him. Being called by his name made the smaller’s heart swell up. Even if Chanyeol thought of him as a replacement for a dog, at least the man had the courtesy to remember his name.   
  
“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol noticed the pair of eyes glistening as they looked at him. Though the Prince was professional at keeping his emotions at bay, the man still became uncomfortable at the thought of the small human in his arms being unhappy.   
  
“Am I doing something wrong? You keep flinching...am I making you uncomfortable?” Chanyeol enquired, his expressions nowhere near to the concern his voice exuded.   
  


“M-Maybe...using your hands would be better?” Baekhyun suggested and he instantly felt the tentacle recoil and withdraw. Baekhyun’s thoughts rushed to him before Chanyeol’s actions could, ‘Maybe he crossed the line, who was he to tell the prince what to do?’ The nerves in his body were going to go back to riling up his brain if it weren’t for the huge big palm that settled cautiously on his hair. 

Chanyeol carressed Baekhyun, his fingers leaving behind a feeling as gentle as his intentions. The human, being devoid of warmth and anything familiar to it, leaned into it, a purr almost leaving his lips. He moved his head to different sides so as to guide Chanyeol’s touch over to the places he wanted scratched, and in the process missed the small smile that spread across the Prince’s face.   
  
“Did you eat well?” The heavy voice asked after what felt like eternity. Baekhyun was almost on the verge of being lulled into sleep, by his touch. The human merely nodded, sighing as he enjoyed the never ending caresses. “You are sleepy again? Did you not sleep well? But you slept for 3 days!” The warm voice woke up the light haze that was already settling onto the human’s eyes.   
  
“I just feel lonely...” Baekhyun muttered as he smacked his lips and made a few sleepy noises. 

“Yes...I’ve read that pets do...feel lonely quite often, but I’m too busy. Is Sehun not keeping you company?” Chanyeol sounded like a young girl questioning her stuffed toys. Baekhyun smiled at his own analogy. He looked back at the tall man, just taking in the beautiful features one at a time. His heart had never felt this calm before. He eased up in the royal’s lap, laying his head on the broad chest.  
  
“Sehun’s...nice.”   
  
“I am glad to hear that, but are you really that tired? You keep yawning. Should we leave?” Baekhyun was about to decline the request when a throat was cleared in the background. The small noise jerked the human back to reality and as he hastily tried to sit back up straight, in the hassle, his head smacked Chanyeol’s chin.   
  
“Your Highness!!” Sehun exclaimed as he ran over, almost pushing Baekhyun to the floor in the frenzy. The human hissed at the harshness but stayed quiet when he realised what he did. He quickly sat on his knees.   
  
“Forgive me Your Highness!” Baekhyun’s voice cracked as he repeatedly begged for mercy. “I made a mistake, I didn’t mean to...Please do not send me back to your brother!” The human was on his way to restart another apology when he felt arms pulling him back to his feet.   
  
“I am really sorry...uh...pet…” Sehun awkwardly apologised as his eyes showed his earnesty. Baekhyun was about to dismiss it when a command from the Prince followed. 

“He has a name, it is Baekhyun. Call him that, it is highly disrespectful to address him anything otherwise.” Chanyeol sat where he did before, his face just as expressionless.   
  
“Of course, my apologies, Prince. Sorry, Baekhyun...” Sehun smiled warmly as Baekhyun just nodded.   
  
“Are you hurt Baekhyun?” The Prince was quick to ask again and when Baekhyun declined, the guard was still ordered to have him thoroughly checked.   
  
That night Baekhyun slept peacefully imagining the comfy bed to be someone’s broad cozy chest.   
  
Of course, it definitely... was _not_ Prince Chanyeol’s.   
  
\----   
  
His breathing hitched as he cursed himself for the 100th time, a shiver ran down his spine as his fingers clutched onto his own garments. Baekhyun’s curiosity always had him stumbling into problems. The human flinched when he saw one tentacle approaching him.   
  
“You seem to be enjoying your life. Look at you, hasn’t even been a week since Chanyeol stole you away from me and your collarbones are no longer peaking out.” The calm heavy voice and the venom that soaked through it, made Baekhyun clutch his snakeskin collar, as his fingers fidgeted from pure fear.

  
“Just because he saved you once, does not mean he will save you again…don’t get too cocky.” Kyungsoo’s menacing smile had Baekhyun panicking, so he did what he should’ve done the second he saw the devil, he screamed. Of course, it worked, as his guard in shining armour came running towards him. Baekhyun thought that he was saved, but he thought too soon, because just a second later a loud smack of a tentacle sounded all around as the guard was thrown away!   
  
“Sehun!” The human shouted which only made the evil prince roll his eyes. 

“You do know that I am a Prince right? A mere guard, no matter how good he is, is no match for me.” Kyungso smirked as he moved closer to the human, a tentacle sprouting out to lightly touch Baekhyun’s face. “Brother’s taking good care of you...are you doing something special for him?” The devil’s eyes narrowed as he sniggered while taunting Baekhyun.  
  
“Kyungsoo.” A heavy voice from behind called out, making the devil turn, his persona immediately doing a turn about, completely manipulating the evil smirk he had previously put on. 

“Chanyeol.How fortunate of you to find us.” Though the words were normal, the bite in it was quite out there for anyone to understand.  
  
“I was just looking for Baekhyun,” Chanyeol answered as he walked and stood across his brother, right in front of Baekhyun. His back faced the human, as he smiled back. 

“Oh? That thing has a name?” Kyungsoo smirked but his older brother’s stern gaze was enough for him to retreat, at least for now. “I was just telling Baekhyun that this was not an alley he should be roaming around. If the King found him, it would not really be a great day for your earthling. Anyway, I should take my leave. See you later.” The person bowed to his elder brother and walked away, not paying a single heed to the human or the guard that now stood straight.  
  
“Sehun...why could Baekhyun come here?” Chanyeol’s personality did a complete flip, as his voice suddenly became annoyed and the calm demeanor he put on while he spoke to his brother was nowhere to be seen. 

“I was taking a nap, sire... I am sorry, this will not be repeated.”  
  
“It better not be repeated, because the day it is, you can count it as your last . And you! What is your obsession with running away from your room! Stop making it difficult for me!” Chanyeol spat, as he walked away just like his brother not even glancing back at the two. The human was still shivering, but now because of a completely different reason. This was the first time he saw Chanyeol treat him in that manner.   
  
If Baekhyun had counted it right, it has been 14 moons since he was in Chanyeol’s care and the giant had always been a calming presence around him with his kind words and warm caresses. Though the Prince did not spare him much time, the time that he did spare him was the only thing Baekhyun looked forward to. So this being the first time the Prince had shunned him away, the words hurt more than he had expected them to. Chanyeol had always been so patient with him that he’d never seen this side of him, at least aimed towards himself. It was a feeling that was very close to having let down someone who put him on a pedestal. Though the pedestal was probably just a small kennel.   
  
“Baekhyun, are you alright?” Sehun asked, breaking the human’s thoughts mid way. He merely nodded as his voice would’ve betrayed him. “Are you sure?” The guard asked again as he wiped a tear from the smaller’s face. Baekhyun didn’t even realise when he started tearing up.   
  
“It’s okay...don’t cry. See I’m perfect! I don’t get hurt so easily!” The guard flashed his biceps as if they were enough to prove that he was not injured. The mere sight of the guard’s self obsession made Baekhyun burst into a giggle.   
  
“Let’s get you back to our side of the castle. As Prince Kyungsoo said, it’s not very safe to wander around this side, especially for a _human_ like you.” Sehun muttered as he pulled Baekhyun and quickly escorted him back to his room. On arriving, the human plopped on his bed, and eyed Sehun as the man went around cleaning up the mess.   
  
“About what you said..earlier...” Baekhyun spoke between pauses, making Sehun lift an eyebrow. “Especially for humans… is there any other human being here?” The human’s eyes lit up at the probability of the answer being a positive, but it was short lived when Sehun just smiled back while shaking his head.   
  
“How do I say it...uh...Neptunians aren’t very fond of the humans. Here, humans are the most despised out of the aliens out there.” Sehun said awkwardly, as he tried to decipher the expression on the earthling’s face. He was about to explain further, but paused as a throat cleared up in the background. On seeing the Prince himself at Baekhyun’s doorstep, Sehun immediately bowed and so did the human.   
  
“My Prince, did you need anything?” Sehun asked but it was futile as Chanyeol’s attention was on the shivering human next to him. 

“I wish to speak to Baekhyun, you can leave.” Chanyeol commanded and though Baekhyun’s head shot up to peer at Sehun and beg him to not leave, Sehun shrugged as he walked outside. 

No matter how the guard managed to keep the conclusions at bay, he couldn’t hide how surprised he was by Chanyeol’s frequent visits to the human’s chamber. A small but pleasant smile ran across the guard’s face as he realised what was happening, but he shushed the atrocious thought in his mind.  
\-----   
  
Baekhyun’s lip wobbled as he remembered the way Chanyeol had left some time back and he flinched when the Prince suddenly sat down on his bed. The human was confused but the second the Prince tapped his lap, Baekhyun bowed his neck and walked over to take his place. The human would be lying if he said he hadn’t found solace in the Prince’s warmth.

Since their first meeting, this had become their ritual. Chanyeol sought out Baekhyun twice everyday to just pet him. What fascinated Baekhyun was the fact that every day he got to see the Prince in a different mood. Though the person was made up of few expressions, his warmth differed. Some days he was cold even when he was warm, some days he was just like a breeze, calm yet refreshing.  
  
“What were you both talking about?” The Prince voiced his question, his tone as calm as ever. The warm dew that he left on the human’s skin whenever he spoke, had become something Baekhyun was accustomed to. 

“Nothing, he was just telling me… never mind…” The smaller shook his head as his heart hurt at the possibility of the Prince being one of the many who hated his species too. 

“What was it?” Chanyeol questioned again, this time it being more of a command for Baekhyun to reply to than a normal question.  
  
“He was... about to tell me...the reason behind why Neptunians...despised humans.” The human felt a warm hand clutch onto his waist, the brand new feeling sent a nervous shiver down his spine. Chanyeol brought him closer and like a pup, Baekhyun rested his cheek on the sharp but sturdy chest in front of him.   
  
“Do you know the story of Neptune, Baekhyun?” The Prince asked, suddenly changing the topic. A small needle pricked the smaller’s heart because Chanyeol had conveniently avoided the topic, but he shrugged and shook his head. “Do you want to?” Chanyeol’s gaze was steady and heavy on the human who was burrowing inside him.

  
“If you want me to..” Baekhyun answered as he struggled to not give away how much he’d wanted to pry on this topic.   
  
“Are you aware of Poseidon? The chief deity, the one who rules the seas and the oceans, the God of earthquakes and horses..?” Baekhyun meekly nodded, and so Chanyeol continued.   
  
“He once was hunting, just for fun when he chanced upon a Kraken deity. Her name was Chtamorphia. Though Krakens were always painted as the vicious creatures...people failed to mention just how beautiful they were. Sadly, all human stories were born from fictitious giant squids that they thought owned the oceans, they never were able to witness the real beauty of these sea monsters. Poseidon, of course had seen his own share, but Chtamorphia was the most beautiful of them all. She was believed to have been beautiful enough to give competition to Goddess Aphrodite.” Chanyeol had almost forgotten he was narrating this story to Baekhyun until the other grasped when he compared the kraken deity’s beauty to Aphrodite. 

“She was really that beautiful?” The human asked earnestly and Chanyeol couldn’t stop himself from smiling faintly as he nodded. “Then what happened?”  
  
“Then the thing that Poseidon was the most known for happened. He fell for her and she fell for his charm. As the deity herself was a being of the waters, it was not long before Poseidon’s wife, Amphitrite got a whiff of it. Their affair and Chtamorphia herself would’ve been in danger if they continued, but Poseidon didn’t want to lose her, so he created an entire planet just for her. And that’s how Neptune came into existence.” Chanyeol’s story was again interrupted with a loud childlike gasp as Baekhyun looked at him with his eyes bulging as he processed the story that seemed like a fairytale. A god creating an entire planet to protect his love from the wrath of the others.   
  
“He created Neptune, but hid it with a magical murk so powerful that even the Gods themselves were fooled into believing that it was just a planet that Poseidon created for his own entertainment. It became a trend then, as 7 more were created by the other deities just to compete with one another. No one knew what Poseidon hid with its existence.”

  
Chanyeol paused as he realised Baekhyun’s breathing had slowed down, however the human was wide awake. “But then..how does turtle man..and everyone travel back and forth…” 

“Turtle man?” Chanyeol pouted as he tried to put together who Baekhyun was actually talking about and it took him mere seconds to figure it out.  
  
“Oh, you mean..the smugglers.Well, Poseidon did create a new planet but he also created an opening that connected it to the earth, well hidden from everyone else. It was his passage to visit Neptune and his love. But of course, even if he's a God, to carry out magic to this extent, it will have some consequences. Without his knowledge, a few cracks appeared, creating hidden pathways between the two planets, and probably even Poseidon remains unaware of them. Neptunians found them over a period of time, venturing to the unknowns of Earth and smuggling back...” Chanyeol abruptly halted as the head resting on his chest lolled away. The Prince smiled as he noticed Baekhyun’s soft lips which were now smacking to quip a few sleepy noises. Making sure that he placed the human in his bed comfortably, the Prince sighed.   
  
Who would’ve thought taking care of a pet would be this tedious. He was the Prince, the next in line to be the King of this planet and here he was, distracting Baekhyun from a topic and putting him to sleep. Chanyeol who was never even expected to raise a spoon for himself, was now pulling a blanket over a shivering alien, that too, a human of them all. After stealing a last glance at the sleeping figure, Chanyeol marched out to find Sehun, he found the guard whiling away his time sitting on the stair railing.   
  
“My Prince.” The guard sprang to his feet, bowing immediately. The Prince just nodded. His annoyance from what had happened a while back returned. 

“Follow me back to my office.” Chanyeol commanded and without a single question, Sehun followed. Once they were inside, Chanyeol walked over to his huge desk and took his seat. His eyes glared back at Sehun making the guard sweat.

“About what happened today…” The Prince began but paused. 

In usual scenarios, Sehun wouldn’t have dared to interrupt but the pause made him think that the Prince was letting him know that it was time for him to apologise so he did. “It will not ever be repeated my lord, I’ll make sure…”  
  
“Why do you think it happened Sehun?” Chanyeol interrupted the guard’s obvious rant, catching him by surprise. 

“Huh?.. Apologies for the reaction...I meant, what do you mean sire?”  
  
“I am asking, why is Baekhyun frequently escaping? Am I not being a good owner?” The Prince’s stubborn question almost made Sehun lift an eyebrow. This was the same guy, who didn’t bother speaking for months at a stretch, right?. Sehun had never seen Chanyeol this invested in anyone. He couldn’t blame the Prince, the human was quite unique. Even Sehun himself today was scared for the smaller’s safety when he saw him shivering from across Kyungsoo.   
  
“He’s bored, sir.” The guard replied, keeping his head down, as he could feel Chanyeol thinking. 

“Bored? But I try to and do spend much time with him..” 

“Of course, you do sir, but that’s hardly anything. He’s alone cooped up in the room all day, not knowing what to do...I do try and engage with him as much as possible..but…”  
  
“What do you mean by engage?” The Prince’s narrow eyes caught the guard by surprise, this was the first time Chanyeol had shown so many expressions at once. 

“I try my best to talk and communicate with him…”  
  
“Oh is that why you were telling him the thing you were telling him today?” Chanyeol’s voice had changed, Sehun could sense a bitter tone to it. 

“I won’t do any such thing in the future, forgive me your highness.” Sehun instantly apologised and Chanyeol merely dismissed it.  
  
“About Baekhyun being...bored... We must do something about it so that he stops getting into troublesome situations, especially with Kyungsoo. I don’t want to imagine what would’ve happened today if...” Chanyeol loudly clanked his table loudly, even Sehun flinched from being caught off guard.   
  
“I think I have a solution for it, sir.” Sehun urged to divert Chanyeol’s trail of thoughts and it worked as the Prince quickly looked back at him with hopeful eyes.   
  
\-----   
  
Baekhyun yawned, yapping his lips, as he stretched in the comfortable bed, the bedsheet was wrinkled and the blanket was half on the ground. He realised where he was when his palm clinked against the glass of water next to his bed. The human quickly sat up straight. His thoughts going back to last night’s as he recalled the secret love story he’d learned of. His cheeks reddened instantly when he thought about the fact that he’d fallen asleep on the Prince. Literally on top of him. 

The hurting cheeks quickly changed colours when Sehun rushed in scaring the living daylights out of the human. The guard pushed the whining human out of bed and then hurried him to the bathroom. Once Baekhyun was properly dressed and just as beautiful as ever, Sehun broke the news that Chanyeol had requested his presence. The mere mention of the Prince made colour rush to the human’s face, making Sehun raise his eyebrows to taunt him.  
  
“Did something happen yesterday Baekhyunee?” Sehun suggested in a weird, taunting voice. He smirked when a pillow smacked him right in the middle of his face. 

“What are you even saying….” Baekhyun shied away only for Sehun to crinkle his eyes and push the human out towards their destination.   
  
He had been over the same path so many times now, that Baekhyun was quick to realise they were taking a different route. “Where are you taking me?” The curiosity jumped out but all he got in reply was a “you’ll see”. 

Soon they stopped in front of a huge door that looked like it hid another Kingdom beyond it. The arches were so high that they actually ended where the ceiling began. The door creaked with a loud noise when Sehun pushed it, even though it was already slightly open. A clear sign that it’s existence was not very important up till now , and that someone was already inside. Baekhyun’s body heated up thinking of the man it possibly was. His mind worried him about how he would face him after he fell asleep on him. He was the Prince of an entire planet after all, it would’ve been considered an insult and if Sehun knew he would’ve definitely given Baekhyun an earful.

Well, Sehun would’ve combusted in a second if he’d even found out that Baekhyun still occupied the Prince’s lap. The first time Sehun had found Baekhyun on Chanyeol’s lap was the same day Baekhyun had headbutted the Prince’s chin. 

That day, Sehun had made sure Baekhyun knew his boundaries. What a dimwit. The guard should’ve made sure if Chanyeol cared about them. Of course, Baekhyun could not decline the Royal’s orders.  
  
“Good morning, you look like you slept well.” Chanyeol interrupted Baekhyun’s train of thoughts as soon as the human stepped a foot inside. He would’ve replied but the surroundings caught his eye. 

The room was huge, much bigger and larger than even Chanyeol’s quarters, it looked like a place where armies stored their armour/ weapons. It was a dungeon, but a dungeon full of things too familiar to Baekhyun.   
  
“W-What is this….?” The humans whispered, taking in the huge chamber, as his eyes danced from one object to another. 

“I thought, _you_ would know what these things are, Baekhyunee.” Sehun retorted, earning a glare from the smaller. 

“Of course I know what these things are, I was just shocked that there’s a room full of them.” The human snapped back, making Sehun roll his eyes.  
  
“You both seemed to have...become close.” Chanyeol sounded a bit bitter than usual but that was just maybe Sehun’s imagination. 

“Of-of course not...” The human stuttered, but Chanyeol dismissed it quickly.  
  
“As you can see Baekhyun, this is a room full of things that we have smuggled from your home. Earthlings are really very innovative.These are just a few of the things we have, of which most remain..undiscovered as to what their uses are. I would like it if you could help us.”   
  
“M-me?” The human stuttered, not believing his ears 

“Of course, I am sure you have more knowledge of these things....plus Sehun, here pointed out that one of the main reasons you keep dallying out from your room is because you are bored. This might help in keeping you engaged and would help us too since these things would not go to waste.”  
  
“I d-don’t know what to…” Baekhyun tried speaking but the guard cut him off midway. 

“You don’t really have much of an option, you can start from today itself. There’s a desk and a few journals there, fill them all out. Make sure you explain the use of these things thoroughly.”   
  
Sehun smiled when he saw Baekhyun nod vigorously but he didn’t realise that the shine that glazed over the human’s eyes was actually because he finally found a way to be of some use to Prince Chanyeol. Within seconds of Baekhyun parading around to see through what all he had to work with, Chanyeol’s council had reached out to him for assistance and the Prince left shortly, quite happy with himself to see that Baekhyun finally had an emotion he could denote to be called a smile on his face.   
  


**_-The Unforeseen-_ **

  
Life on Neptune had not quite been what Baekhyun had expected ever since he stepped foot on it (considering the fact that he was smuggled onto this planet against his will). However, since the past few weeks, he’d be lying if he didn’t say that it had actually taken a turn for the better. The human was actually really enjoying the job that the Prince had entrusted upon him. For weeks, all he did was giggle and marvel at the way Sehun’s and Chanyeol’s eyes filled with astonishment whenever the smaller explained about the certain instruments the human race had managed to come up with. Having had most of the tasks in their life be simplified for them due to their hereditary powers, made the fact that the humans had deciphered so many without them was purely amazing from the Neptunian’s point of view.   
  
Today was one such day, as Baekhyun sat in the tall room, which he now liked to refer to as the paradise. The human was trying to explain the purpose behind the box of hair colour he held in his hand.   
  
“So you’re telling me humans purposely colour their hair in certain shades? Just for fun?” Chanyeol sat kingly with his chin up and eyes scrutinizing the same box. Sehun was nowhere to be seen as the royal guard was tasked with the job of having to give everyone in the kingdom a ‘crab shell cutter’ courtesy of the royal family. Chanyeol was insanely in love with the entire concept of the shell being crushed by the cutlery rather than their usual way of just banging it on the tables.   
  
“Yes, humans love colouring their hair. We love all kinds of things.” Baekhyun retorted back as he rolled his eyes. Sometimes it was fun to have the Prince interested, but having to explain the basic idea of things that were relatively not as interesting as the man made them out to be, was a bit annoying. Especially the crab shell cutter thing. Baekhyun still can’t believe the entire Neptune was in awe of the same.   
  
“Did you ever colour your hair back home?” Chanyeol asked his eyebrows doing the thing he always did when he was interested. 

“Of course I did, I once had a rainbow head too! But I couldn’t keep it for long, people around were not very nice.” 

  
“I see, do you think I would look good if I coloured my hair?” The heavy but serious voice asked, expression just as serious as ever, making the human’s jaw drop. 

“Do you want to try? I mean, if it doesn’t we could always colour it back to the original shade.” Baekhyun simply said and even that made the Prince awe in surprise. 

“Humans definitely have thought many things through,” Chanyeol motioned for Baekhyun to begin.   
  
“What? Wait..You want _me_ to colour them for you?” The human’s eyes were almost as wide as a frog’s and the resemblance made Chanyeol smile, not big enough for anyone to notice though. He was just that good at hiding his feelings. 

“Who else? No one in the court would know exactly what to do, and if someone screws it up, I have no choice but to behead them”  
  
“WHAT?”   
  
“Not you of course, since there’s no one here who would find out, even if you made a mistake.” The Prince simply relayed as Baekhyun still stood there not knowing how else to react. Finding that the longer he waited, the more irritated the Prince looked, he quickly walked over.   
  
“Are you saying you’ll keep a secret for me?” Baekhyun’s cheeks reddened at the mere thought of the sentiment, but Chanyeol’s expressionless face made him roll his eyes.   
  
“I would rather have you not make any mistakes at all.” Chanyeol calmly replied, his finger flicking a string off his tentacle.   
  
“Uh.. in order to do that, I would have to touch..your hair, will that be okay my lord? Since Sehun has time and again reminded me of my boundaries, I don’t want to-” The glare he received was enough for the human to make a run to get the desired instruments for the same.   
  


Baekhyun started with thoroughly reading the instructions, so as to not make any mistakes and keep his own head safe. That one particular line about mistakes and beheading had made Baekhyun question the number of times Chanyeol might have had to make decisions which were not really his.  
  
“Can I ask you something, Your Highness?” The slight nod that Baekhyun felt as his fingers were carding through the Prince’s hair made him continue. “About what you said earlier...have there been many situations where you’ve had to take harsh decisions only because of protocol?”   
  
When he received no answer for a while, the human assumed he crossed a line, so in order to not make matters worse he shut his mouth, and continued following the instructions to make sure the result was right. Chanyeol stayed silent through it all too, maybe mulling over the thing Baekhyun had just asked of him.   
  
It had been a good 30 mins since Baekhyun had started, the silence making the entire process a lot more therapeutic than he thought it’d be. Soon he realised, the warm head that he held in his grasp as he went around coating it with colour, had somehow become heavier. As he moved ahead, to figure out what was going on, Baekhyun’s heart thudded, when he came face to face with Chanyeol’s sleepy face. The Prince looked young and fragile as he rested his head in Baekhyun’s hand fearless, not even bothered of the dangers which being this defenseless could lead to.   
  
Baekhyun decided that he’d wake the Prince up, once he was done. He was aware of the gruelling tiresome hours Chanyeol spent working and made the decision that Chanyeol needed his well deserved rest too. The human continued while at the same time supporting the Prince’s head until he was done. Even then as he didn’t have the heart to wake up the clearly tired man, he took a seat next to him, as his hand screamed from numbness.

When the door creaked open, Baekhyun could easily anticipate the shriek the guard would let out, so he worked quicker to shush the man. Sehun stood there astonished but also glaring at the human for overstepping his boundaries. Meanwhile. Baekhyun just rolled his eyes.   
  
When the buzzer that Baekhyun had set for the hair colour to work, beeped, Chanyeol finally woke up. His sleepy gaze passed over the excited human next to him, who sat there looking at him with a smile on his face. The Prince sat up in stride, which surprised both Baekhyun and Sehun.   
  
“Why did you not wake me up?” Chanyeol cleared his throat, his hands involuntarily patting everything to maintain his prideful status. 

“You looked tired” Baekhyun squeaked, but before the Prince could reply, the human jumped, clasping his hands as he bounced around.  
  
“Let’s wash your hair first and then talk!” Baekhyun squealed once again, as he motioned for the Prince to walk to the sink, keeping in mind not to even touch him. He could feel the angry glare from Sehun at the back of his neck already.   
  
When Chanyeol walked out, unsure of the change, he halted when he saw both Baekhyun’s and Sehun’s eyes bulge out from their sockets.   
  
“What’s the matter? Does it not look good?” Chanyeol stood there, carding fingers through his newly coloured hair, an image too bashful for Sehun to even believe this was their Prince.   
  
“Beautiful…”Baekhyun whispered, but turned red, when Chanyeol stunningly looked at him and nodded. The blush was about to make its way to his cheeks, but Sehun’s elbow knocked the wind out of him. He grumbled as the guard shot him a look. ‘In your limits, human’ is what it said even without saying. 

Chanyeol chose to ignore the exchange as he himself did not know what to say. His eyes flickered to one of the mirrors at the back of the room, and he caught the sight of himself. The burning fiery flecks on his tentacles matching the shade of his head. The red hair and his reddish brown eyes made him look fierce like fire. He could not disagree, it did suit him.  
  
“You did a good job Baekhyun...” Chanyeol complemented the human, but it was not long before they were interrupted by Chanyeol’s council. They always annoyed the human, because of the glares they sent his way, but today, there was something that had their entire attention to itself. Chanyeol’s new aura. Every member had their eyes peering out as they took in the new sight of their Prince. Chanyeol quickly bid adieu to the guard and his pet, as he made way to go back to the council and work. His stride was accentuated by the newfound confidence. If possible he looked a tiny bit scarier than what he looked before. Baekhyun would’ve thought the same, if it hadn’t been for the glimpse of the sleeping innocent Prince he’d caught, just a while back.   
  
  
\----   
  
It had been almost a week since Baekhyun had awoken the inner hairdresser in him and his masterpiece was the talk of the town. Well, Chanyeol had always been the talk of the town, however this time, the new hair colour put the bright spotlight on him, highlighting the perfect shade Baekhyun had mastered. 

Everywhere the human was chaperoned, he’d heard the talk about Chanyeol’s hair. Baekhyun wasn’t prideful but manifesting an entire look that had the planet talking for more than 7 moons now, was not a joke. He was proud of himself, no matter how many stinky eyes Sehun had sent his way initially for stepping over boundaries, the guard had slyly tried to bribe Baekhyun into colouring his hair too. Baekhyun wouldn’t have minded, but Chanyeol did. The Prince made it very clear that Baekhyun was not going to touch anyone’s hair, more so colour it, when he’d found the nagging guard troubling the human. Of course, Sehun, being the dutiful guard, had never asked since. 

Their petting sessions and garden meetings still went on in full swing, however, the red haired Prince was a lot more intimidating now. His expressionless face made it more so. The only thought that made Baekhyun relax was the fact that the Prince had trusted and found his presence comforting to an extent that he dozed off in his presence.

Baekhyun did not understand the big deal, but later that night when Sehun explained how most of the royal family hardly slept, being constantly at the end of their seats scared of evert potential threat. Yes, they were very powerful but they were taught from a very young age to make sure they were in a well protected environment, before they even thought of relaxing.  
  
Baekhyun’s thoughts and the unnecessary obsession with the Prince came to a halt, when his senses kicked in. At the speed of light, the human pounced from where he was sitting and jumped to face the intruder.   
  
“Calm down...I’m not here to harm you.” The warm honey voice chuckled, and Baekhyun immediately calmed down. “Looks like Sehun’s been training you well.” The man’s warm smile melted Baekhyun. The human just bowed addressing the arrival of yet another royal.   
  
“Chanyeol’s not here today?” The person asked, and Baekhyun merely shook his head. 

“You can speak,” It was more of a command than a request. 

“He’s busy, my lord” Baekhyun finally spoke. Though the human could at times get away with his mistakes when it came to Chanyeol, he would still dare not show his courtesy to any other member of the royal family. Sehun had time and again explained about how offensive it would seem.  
  
“I’m surprised, you picked up on manners quicker than most of our Neptunians.” When the human only nodded shyly at the person in front of him, the man decided to lead the conversation. “Mind if I take a seat?” Baekhyun nodded without any words again. The homely smile that graced the tanned face, would make anyone feel safe, similar was Baekhyun’s case.   
  
“Do you come here often?” 

  
“Only when Prince Chanyeol commands for it.” 

  
“Right...please, don’t be so modest, have a seat, I won’t pounce.” The lazy smile that laid across the Prince’s face, made Baekhyun’s cheeks hot. He quickly moved to sit next to the man,conscious about the space he left between them. They were currently in Chanyeol’s garden, the open area which was the duo’s meeting place. Today, however, the Prince had cancelled because of a particular meeting. Feeling too stuffy and quarantined, Baekhyun himself went down to the place after taking Sehun’s permission, of course.   
  
“Helllllooooo?” The other Prince flapped his hands in front of Baekhyun to draw his attention. The human surprised at the loudness sat up straighter.

  
“Apologies...Your Highness…” Baekhyun was interrupted midway by a laugh, that resembled the bright sun. 

“Please call me Jongin. So I finally get to meet you in a state where you aren’t troubled. I’m glad Chanyeol is taking good care of you.” The skin near Jongin’s eyes crinkled making even Baekhyun smile back. This only resulted in the other taking in a huge sigh. “I would like to apologise that I didn’t interfere when Kyungsoo was being...rash.”

Kyungsoo was a lot more than just rash. Baekhyun mentally slapped himself for immediately correcting this nice person, in his mind. But it was true. 

Suspecting Baekhyun’s inner turmoil right, Jongin sighed again. 

“I am really apologetic...it’s just that humans and Neptunians don’t really get along well. Plus, Kyungsoo was just doing something we’ve all been curious of for a while.”   
  
This managed to perk up Baekhyun’s gears as his attention now solely focused on the person in front of him. His curiosity betrayed his manners as he asked the question burning in his mind. “If I may, sir....Jongin..can I ask what it is about the humans that Neptunians dislike? I was caught off guard by the animosity ” This mere question had the other give out a sarcastic laugh, confusing the human even more. “Did I make a fool of myself, my lord?” Baekhyun probed further.   
  
“No, it’s just funny, that Neptunians have lived all their life, in sheer hatred of the human race, and you all are not even aware.” Jongin’s words made Baekhyun even more confused. Sensing the confusion however, Jongin continued. “ Have you heard about Neptune’s story Baekhyun?”   
  
“Yes, Prince Chanyeol, did once tell me about it…” At the mention of his cousin, Jongin’s eyebrow jumped, clearly surprised, Chanyeol actually did entertain his pet? “Oh, and what did he tell you?”   
  
“My lord told me how Poseidon made an entire planet just for his love.” Baekhyun’s eyes shined as his stomach felt fuzzy just as the day he’d realised the significance of this planet. It was not a shocker that he was a hopeless romantic. His mushy thoughts however were interrupted by Jongin. 

“And…?” The Prince asked and the dazed confusion on the human’s face was enough of an answer to make Jongin laugh again. “That’s so like Chanyeol, to have left out the unnecessary parts.” 

Baekhyun bit his lip as he probed further. “What do you mean?”   
  
“I mean that he did not tell you what happened after the love story. Do you wish to know?” Jongin did not have to ask a second time, as Baekhyun rapidly nodded his head, making the Prince chuckle. The human noticed how Jongin was a smiley and warm person.   
  
“Over the years, it is quite normal for love to fizzle out, but from what we know of the past it was impossible for it to ever happen to Chtamorphia and Poseidon’s. He paid her visits so often that he was almost considered to be missing from Olympus. Of course, it did not settle well with his wife and one day he was followed. Amphitrite was appalled when she found out the purpose behind the entire planet and the next day she returned with other powerful deities at her side and striped Chtamorphia of her powers, leaving her as a mortal.” Jongin paused and was amused by how wide the human’s eyes were, the sudden pause brought Baekhyun back to reality as he quickly urged for the story to continue.   
  
“Amphitrite’s hatred was so brutal that no matter what Poseidon did, he could not save Chtamorphia, and one day like all mortals she had to depart to the other worlds. The god of the seas could not bear the grief and left the planet to its own, for good.”

  
Jongin halted as he softly smiled back at the human. Who still looked confused. 

“It indeed, was a very sad...ending, my lord, but..I still don’t get the hatred for the humans.” Baekhyun whispered, and Prince Jongin looked like he was already in a deep thought, somewhere already far away.   
  
“Do you perhaps have a sibling?” Suddenly the Prince asked, confused about the question, the human quickly shook his head to decline. “ Our ancestors were all aware of the humans because Chtamorphia herself was from Earth. Hence everything here, matches and is very similar to the Earth’s atmosphere and living conditions.”

“I asked you the previous question because it’s very much like how a sibling would detest the other if their parents were partial. Imagine, a kid who was abandoned and saw the same father cherishing his other children? The kid would begin detesting his siblings. When Poseidon abandoned us after Chtamorphia’s death, the detesting turned to anger to pure hate.”  
  
“The god always cherished and protected his other children but had abandoned an entire planet. People here began suspecting that humans possessed some special powers or characteristics which were the reasons why they were favoured. After decades we found a pathway to Earth, the one used by some to smuggle things now. On its discovery, some Neptunians went on a quest to find out about the Earth, but were thought to be of danger to the earthlings and the gods killed them all...just...like that… Poseidon being one of them too, not even caring they were his own children ” 

Jongin choked and Baekhyun did not know what he should do or say, because all of this sounded unreal. He could understand how it all began but the more he thought about it, the more he realised that it meant that the gods were still...present, living and alive? This was too much for his non believing brain.  
  
“My lord, are you okay?” Baekhyun tried but Jongin quickly gained back his composure and dismissed it with a smile and continued. 

“That incident raged through the hearts of Neptunians and confirmed the favouritism that you humans received. It peaked the hatred against the earthlings, the King lost his own brother to the incident and it had since been accepted that earthlings are nothing but the enemies of the Neptunians.”  
  
As Baekhyun grasped the issue and put some thoughts together, he wondered about how some things began to make sense now however, he failed to take note of the 2 pairs of eyes who were staring at them from far away.   
  
\-----   
  
Chanyeol cleared his throat as his eyes calmly rested on the two figures that were now sitting in his garden. He stood tall in the balcony of the royal room. His stomach felt a little tight from a weird feeling that raked through it. He didn’t know if it was the food or his cousin being too close to the human. He dismissed the thought when the large balcony door creaked.   
  
“Your human seems to have...adjusted to our world.” The King spoke as his eyes ran over the sight that his son was keenly looking towards. Chanyeol merely nodded, his knuckles almost white due to the force with which he was holding onto the railing. 

Was his cousin that free to go around making friends? Chanyeol would have to look into it and increase his workload.  
  
“Seeing him...and from everything you’ve told me, looks like there is nothing special about humans.” The King continued. “He doesn’t seem to have any special powers or skills either...”   
  
“Yes, like you asked, I was going to keep an eye on him from afar, but Kyungsoo just took it too far.” Chanyeol muttered, a bit annoyed at his brother’s stupidity. “The human is quite entertaining, plus he willingly helped us understand how to use most of the thrown away earthling stuff.Their things don’t seem to be aimed at harming people but rather meant to just groom their lives.” Chanyeol’s eyes reluctantly left the pair in the garden as he faced his father and bowed.   
  
“If I may say, I think we have misunderstood the entire human race, it seems they are even more fragile than most.” Chanyeol added. When his eyes went back to the duo, only to see how his cousin had pett Baekhyun. He frowned.   
  
“You seem to have taken a liking towards the petite thing.” The King threw the words casually, as he tried to carefully decipher Chanyeol’s reaction. The light but noticeable blush that crept on the neck of the otherwise stoic prince was enough of an answer. The King laughed attractively.   
  
“I’m glad the earthling was brought here, his presence seems to have shown us all a Chanyeol we never knew existed.” The King pleasantly smiled as he looked at his son, eyes filled with nothing but familial love.   
  
“I think you’re making more out of what it seems.” Chanyeol replied to the King’s subtle teasing, his voice unmoved as if the blush that took over his being a while back was just a mirage.   
  
“What is it about him? I’ve never seen you this affected by anyone...”   
  
“He just looks scared…” The young Prince muttered but left it at that, even though his mind screamed the next words back at him. He looks scared, ‘just like I was’. 

Chanyeol’s mind took him back to the nights when the thunder rumbled louder than ever but still no one came in even to worry about him. 

Baekhyun reminded Chanyeol of himself, scared most of the time. Yes, he grew up well and he’s brave now, but he still craved someone who could hold his hand through times that scared him into hollow thoughts, even today. It was probably also the reason why, when he’d read what a pet meant in one of Kyungsoo’s old human study books, he had realised how much he craved that companionship, something he’d never received from his parents or even his brother. His father did love him, but he was also the King, and a king did not really have time to come and scare away the monsters under little Chanyeol’s bed. The monsters are still the reasons as to why Chanyeol hadn’t slept for years.   
  
The things that scare him have become different kinds of monsters, but they still exist today.   
  
Seeing Chanyeol too lost in thought, the King did not probe further, call it a father’s inkling, but the King knew that in the future for his son to be happy, he had to make sure that Neptunians understood humans were not a species that deserved the hate that stewed on this planet.   
  
\---   
  
Baekhyun was confused when he walked into his room and found the Prince already there. Chanyeol’s face maintained his expressionless aura but his tentacles moved at an anxious pace.   
  
“Your Highness? What are you-” Sehun was interrupted, by Chanyeol’s sudden heavy stride towards Baekhyun and the Prince’s undoubtedly serious question as to why the human had let his cousin pet him. This was the only time Sehun had seen the Prince this inconvenienced and it was all over a mere interaction, between Baekhyun and Jongin, who was his cousin for god’s sake. Sehun would’ve laughed at how much of a spluttering mess Baekhyun had become, but his surprise with Prince’s reaction outweighed it.   
  
“Sehun, you can leave.” The Prince commanded out of nowhere. It had become a habit for the guard to leave them with the human giving him baby eyes so without even a glance at Baekhyun, Sehun took his leave.   
  
\----   
  
“I thought you were my pet? Are you planning to change sides?” Chanyeol chided like a 4-year-old. Baekhyun could’ve easily thought of Chanyeol as a high schooler but his robust face and scary tentacles, which were now climbing onto him angrily, didn’t for a second let him even imagine the Prince as a normal human being.   
  
“H-He was just...telling me...the complete story, which you carefully left out.” Baekhyun muttered, but glared at Chanyeol in return. His body was taken over by the tentacles, but he had his eyes to show his feelings and apparently they were enough, for Chanyeol flinched a little. This was the first time that Baekhyun had shown him an expression that was uncommon for a Royal to have received.   
  
“Why does it look like you’re blaming me?” The Prince thundered, only to draw out a soft whimper from the human. Upon realising he had begun hurting Baekhyun, Chanyeol’s tendrils immediately recoiled a bit, his hold on Baekhyun, unmoving but not as aggressive as before. “You even discussed with him, the story that I shared with you?”

  
“Was I not supposed to? You clearly just told me whatever convenienced you and left out the part where Posedien abandoned you all!”   
  
The word ‘abandon’ brought back the long disposed memories of Chanyeol’s mom that played on replay as if to torture him. His grip which he had loosened just a while back, became tighter than before, as if holding Baekhyun would stop his thoughts from torturing him further.   
  
“He probably had….a reason….” Chanyeol weakly replied. Baekhyun on the other hand was struggling to get out of his hold. The human did not know how long he could sustain in this tight clasp, but thankfully, though late, Chanyeol was back to his senses and realised how his inner battles were taking over his mind. He immediately loosened his hold, enough to let the other break out into a sigh. He then walked over to Baekhyun’s bed. His tendrils adjusted themselves as they moved along with him while Baekhyun was still held in their tight grasp. If the human hadn’t been encaged in them, he would’ve probably referred to the movements that the tentacles displayed, as a piece of art.   
  
Soon enough, Baekhyun found himself being pulled, surprisingly he hadn’t even realised his feet were no longer touching the floor. The realisation then dawned on him, that for so long he had been floating? His eyes became huge and adrenaline rushed within him when Chanyeol’s tendrils pulled him towards the bed. In a fraction of a second, he was floating only a few centimetres above the Prince, his face just close enough for him to taste Chanyeol’s raw but fresh smell. The entire trip from the floor to the bed purely in the air had the human breaking into a warm but surprised laugh.   
  
“What?” The Prince enquired and realised how amazed and awed the human looked, so he did what anyone would do. He cradled the human in his hold and just like a rocket ship, flew him across the room with loud squirms, giggles and wheee’s coming out of Baekhyun’s mouth.   
  
“Hands!!!” The human shrieked and Chanyeol immediately let go of the human’s encaged hands to grip somewhere else onto the soft body. Finding himself living an experience he had never thought he would, Baekhyun thrashed his hands out like a bird and enjoyed every dip and aim.   
  
He was flying!   
  
After a good 20 mins of bird Baekhyun, Chanyeol slowly, but carefully, laid the human down next to him, on the bed. Though the flight was just as fun, finding himself finally rid of those tendrils made the human sigh a little.   
  
“Enjoyed it?” Chanyeol asked and Baekhyun nodded fervently. Both of them were amazed at how an argument ended up with them actually playing. Baekhyun giggled, Chanyeol followed and soon, both of them were a laughing mess. The loud laughs didn’t fail to draw the attention of the nosy guard, and in rushed Sehun only to be traumatised by the sight that lay in front of him. His pure and ever glorious Prince was in the same bed entangled with the annoying human. Sehun’s loud shriek of disapproval was on it’s way when a tendril rushed towards him only to poke him on the chest and make him jump a step back. The confusion, however, was the last of him that the giggling but surprised duo on the bed saw. because the next second, Chanyeol’s tentacle had shut the door on the guard’s face.   
  
“You did not just-” Baekhyun’s eyes were filled with surprise and he just looked back and forth from the door to the Prince’s face. Chanyeol shrugged as if he hadn’t just evilly pushed the guard out. Next came the loud laughs and chortles by the human next to him!   
  
Chanyeol’s heart thudded a little harder when he realised this was the first time his human looked this overjoyed and happy. He wanted to be stuck in this room with Baekhyun forever and not be disturbed, but the annoying guard who kept banging the door was testing his patience.   
  
“What is it?” Chanyeol thundered as he finally opened the door with his tentacle, his hand still tight around Baekhyun, pulling him closer on the bed as Sehun, in all his earnesty, tried to avoid the lifelong troubling sight.   
  
“P-Prince...it is highly uncomfortable for me to say this, but I would like to remind you that Baekhyun is an earthing and…”   
  
“Stop being annoying Sehun and be within your limits.” Chanyeol uninterestedly replied, his eyes threading over every freckle on the human’s face as Baekhyun looked everywhere else but at the Prince.   
  
“Prince, at least consider the fact that you’re in the human’s room, in his bed and it’s highly insulting for a royal figure to-”   
  
“Yes, you’re right! Father would not like it either, Baekhyun let’s go to my room!” Chanyeol quickly got up, his tentacles pushing for Baekhyun to rise with him. The human walked alongside the Prince as he tried the best he could to avoid sharing eye contact with the furious guard.   
  
“That’s not what I meant!”   
  
“I am hungry, bring some food to my room, I’d like to have dinner with Baekhyun.” Chanyeol interrupted without even giving the guard a glance, while Baekhyun just followed him.   
  
“It’s beautiful!” The shorter breathed as he saw Chanyeol’s room again. He had been here when he was saved from Kyungsoo the first time, but it looked somehow even more elegant than before, probably because this time the human wasn’t scared for his life. Chanyeol merely smiled as he led Baekhyun towards the balcony, taking in all the oohs and aahs the shorter let out.   
  
They took their seats just when an annoyed Sehun walked in, with a tray of assortments in his hands. Baekhyun’s eyes lit up when he saw tasty crab meat being one of the things that was served and it was then that Chanyeol realised how easy it was to read the human.   
  
“Thank you Sehun, you can leave now.” Chanyeol politely asked the guard. 

Before the door could be heard, the crab meat had already found its way into Baekhyun’s mouth.  
  
“You like crabs too huh?” Chanyeol laughed at the shorter’s stuffed mouth as he motioned for him to continue. “There are so many things I do not know about you...” The Prince suddenly sighed as he voiced the thought.   
  
“You could just ask…” Baekhyun spoke back with a full mouth. His own answer or Chanyeol’s interest in him, not even coming close to distracting him from the delicious food that lay in front of him. Chanyeol smiled. The crinkles on the side of his eyes, made him look a lot more older than he was.   
  
“You know, back on Earth, we have this game called 21 questions...where one person volunteers and then the rest ask him 21 questions.” The human spoke in between bites.   
  
“Why 21 questions? Why not 2 or 50 questions? Why does someone readily volunteer for a prude game like this?” Chanyeol pondered and Baekhyun rolled his eyes as he told the Prince how he personally had no idea who the inventor of the game was and if he did find him someday, he'd make sure to let him know Chanyeol’s queries. The only reply he got in return was a polite head shake as if Chanyeol had actually taken his words seriously. So the only conclusion the human could come to, was the fact that sarcasm was probably not a concept that existed on Neptune.   
  
“Do you maybe want to try playing it?” Baekhyun stuffed some more food down his throat, while earnestly looking at the Prince with round big eyes. The swift change in the Prince’s demeanor and the quick glances to the time clock indicated that Chanyeol probably had a lot lined up today.   
  
“Sehun stop listening to us and come in for a moment.” Chanyeol bellowed suddenly, scaring the food out of Baekhyun. The guard sheepishly entered, his face riddled with guilt for having gotten caught.   
  
“Can you tell the council, I feel a little unwell so I won’t be attending the meetings today. Also, if I catch you spying on us again, you’ll bear the brunt.” Chanyeol’s polite voice and face was completely in contrast to the words he threw at the guard. Sehun bowed and quickly left, making Baekhyun laugh.   
  
“He’s quite nosy..*sighh*...should we begin our game?” Chanyeol looked back at the human. Baekhyun sat there, not knowing what to decipher from Chanyeol’s stoic expression. Was he excited? Happy? Burdened? Baekhyun would never know.   
  
“But I would like to make a few changes.” Chanyeol added and even before Baekhyun could nod, the taller had already started stating them. His upbringing as a royal prince backed his need to always try and control the situations. “21 questions seem to be a lot, let’s just ask what we’re interested in knowing about each other without keeping a tab, also whatever is asked, both of us have to answer instead of only one!” Chanyeol’s words seemed to hold weight but his expressions were still as uninterested as ever.   
  
“Okay...you first.”   
  
“From the looks for it, your favourite food seems to be crab meat...is there anything else you like to eat?” Chanyeol softly asked, his ears had already perked up with interest anticipating the answers. However, all words sounded new to him. What were strawberries, ice creams and chocolates? Before he could even proceed with his curiosity, the question had been thrown back at him. The Prince swiftly picked up some crab meat himself and just shrugged as he took a bite, his action enough to denote his favourite.   
  
“This is not a part of the game, but all the words you just said you liked to eat, I have never even heard of them, is there a way to maybe get them here? Do you perhaps remember how they are made?”   
  
“Well, strawberries are actually fruits, they are grown not cooked but the other two are, however I don’t know how to make them.” Baekhyun pouted as he realised how long it had been since he had even had his favourites. The sudden change in mood was easily caught by Chanyeol.   
  
“Alright then, I will call up Jongdae, and tell him, to get them for you.” Chanyeol smiled as instant happiness spread across the human’s face. The Prince was not an expert in solving issues just for the name of it, of course he was gifted with a tactical mind. “It’s your turn to ask next…”   
  
“Right...how old are you? Are you like 100 years old or something? Like do aliens age?” Baekhyun pouted, his curiosity overpowered the need to stuff food in his mouth. His urgency and absurd derivations earned him a warm laugh.   
  
“Poseidon’s beloved Chtamorphia, who was our ancestor, was from Earth herself, everything else on this planet is the same, as that on Earth. Our age, the air we breathe, the scripts and languages we follow...” Chanyeol’s earnest reply however was interrupted by a loud giggle.   
  
“Are you shy? Is that why you’re deflecting the question?” Baekhyun broke into giggles on seeing the Prince’s even more confused face. The sound of a throat being cleared shut him up. Realising he was laughing at the oldest Prince of Neptune, Baekhyun quickly sat up straight, bowed his head down and apologised.   
  
“You do not have to apologise, it indeed was true. I am a bit insecure about my age. It has been Thirty one years since I was born.” Chanyeol’s heavy voice and the little shallow smile made the human squirm, because the revelation was definitely a shocker. Yes, Chanyeol did look mature, but the most Baekhyun thought was maybe 26-27 years, if he had to put it in mortal age. 

The shock on his face however was not easily masked by the smile he tried to put up because Chanyeol chuckled, his toothy smile made small freckles near his lips. “It seems like I should have deflected the question because you seem unhappy with the answer. What about you, Baekhyun? How old are you?”  
  
“N-No! I am not unhappy...at all! You just look so young so I was surprised that’s it, and I am Twenty Six.” The human stated and the Prince nodded, his reaction told Baekhyun that Chanyeol had already figured that out or had a similar guess about his age. “Y-You again” The younger tilted the invisible arrow towards Chanyeol.   
  
“Do..do you perhaps have someone in your heart?” Chanyeol asked, careful to sound as impassive as possible. The choke he heard had him sit up from his relaxed position. “Baekhyun! Are you okay?”   
  
“O-Of course...that question just caught me off guard. I did have some one…” Baekhyun paused as he realised the Prince had adjusted his glance to the floor as soon as Baekhyun had said that. “I mean...I did have someone I was interested in...but there wasn’t a lot happening...we probably weren’t meant to be, we met once in a while or something...what about you?”   
  
“I haven’t had the chance to pay attention to those things.” Chanyeol’s reply was curt. Baekhyun had thought he’d finished when he heard the other continue. “About you...do you...still have feelings for that earthling?” Chanyeol’s impassiveness saw a crack as his eyebrows jutted together, to showcase he was really taking this conversation seriously.   
  
“Uh... I don’t think so...I mean it’s kind of clear that I probably don’t, because I haven’t been home for days if not months, and this is the first time I’ve thought about him. I mean, aside from the part that I still am scared of living here 24/7, so things like those obviously will slip my mind.” Baekhyun’s sarcasm was met with a deep frown.   
  
“You are still scared of living here?” Chanyeol asked, a little unhappy with the sentiment, his frown deepened when Baekhyun slowly gave him a nod. Chanyeol in his own busy life and problems had forgotten that the human was still away from home and only a while back had faced life threatening situations. The recollection left a sour taste in his mouth as he flinched at the memory. “Baekhyun...you are my responsibility now, you do not have to be afraid, I will protect you.”   
  
Baekhyun found himself tearing up as he stood up and lunged over to Chanyeol, clinging to him as if his life depended on the tightness of the hug. Though shocked and not used to the show of emotions via physical contact, Chanyeol did not know how to react to a hug which was not commanded by him or asked of him. The suddenness of the entire situation rushed to his heart and he found himself squeezing just as tight as the human, his tentacles moving elegantly to cover and protect Baekhyun at the same time hold onto him. Chanyeol breathed in the sweet smell of the human as his soft hair brushed against his chin.   
  
Their heart warming and tender moment was interrupted by a tap on the door. Chanyeol however, did not let go of Baekhyun as he stood there carding through his hair as Baekhyun nosed around on the Prince’s chest finding comfort.   
  
“Your Highness, the King has requested for your presence. It is an early dinner with the family.” Sehun spoke from outside. He would not dare enter the Prince’s room without seeking permission.   
  
The duo reluctantly let go off each other. Chanyeol carded his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair one more time before he let Sehun inside. The guard stared down Baekhyun, till the human had no option but to walk and stand behind the guard instead of the Prince. Chanyeol was slightly annoyed at his guard’s behaviour but he thought he should first take care of the things at hand. So after making sure that Sehun would accompany Baekhyun and send some other guards to escort Chanyeol to the dinner, the Prince moved on to freshen up.   
  
  
\----   
  
“Ahh..even Chanyeol is here now!” The King happily announced as the family sat together at the royal table, enjoying the dinner which was made as per the King’s wishes.   
  
“What is it that you are itching to tell us father?” Kyungsoo spoke in between his gulps of juice. The question brought a halt to the hustle on the table. Keen eyes of all the cousins and the entire family looked over to the King.   
  
“After a brief...discussion with Chanyeol...I have come to a conclusion that our hate towards humans is purely based on unnecessary jealousy.” That one statement was enough to bring a pin drop silence to the room, however, it lasted only for a second as whispers broke out. The King was already prepared for this, so even before the loud outbursts came, he continued. “On studying the human we have here, it seems that we have glorified their existence more than necessary. They in fact seem to be a race less gifted than us!”   
  
“Father! What are you even saying!” Kyungsoo shrieked as if the mere thought had burned his insides off. His eyes drifted over to meet Jongin’s as the other looked just as caught off guard as him. The situation of most of the people in the room seemed similar.   
  
  
“Silence, Kyungsoo! It is true that we have always thought of humans as these powerful beings that are a threat to us, but as Chanyeol himself has reported, humans have no notions about hurting us, nor do they even know that we exist. We should not be blaming a species this ignorant for the losses that our own have suffered.” The King continued but anyone could notice how it was not an easy decision for him to take too. The King himself was one of the people who had lost his family members because of humans.   
  
Chanyeol had never breathed clearer. ‘Everything will now fall in place’ was the only single thought that ran through his head, but he probably jinxed himself because what came next, punched the air out of his lungs.   
  
“However, considering that the human is unsafe, around so many who hold a malicious prejudice against him, I have requested for the smugglers who brought him in, to take him back.”   
  
“WHAT?!” Chanyeol’s loud and heavy voice echoed throughout the large room. 

Everyone at the table was shocked because of the sudden outburst, never had they seen the always timid and uninterested Prince this affected by something. The King looked at Chanyeol with sad eyes, already aware of the outcome of his decision. Even though the man was happy that his son was becoming more and more of a warm hearted Neptunian, further involvement with the human just meant more trouble. He did not want to see his son be shamed or shunned by the evils that existed.  
  
“What are you saying Father!? Why does he have to leave?” Chanyeol spoke adamantly, giving out little to no impression of the agony he was actually going through. The King however, dismissed his pained question as he moved ahead, explaining why it was better for the human to leave and how they should start working on educating the locals. Meanwhile, Chanyeol sat there as he heard the arguments but not a single answer to his question.   
  
“Father?!” He probed again   
  
“Chanyeol! He is not safe here!”   
  
“I will keep him safe! I WILL PROTECT HIM!”   
  
“And who will protect you?” The King’s sudden question brought an abrupt halt to the discussions on the table. Chanyeol looked back at his father with nothing but annoyance in his eyes. “Chanyeol, it will take a long time to change the views of the Neptunians, keeping the human here will only put him in more danger, he doesn’t even…”   
  
“He has powers! He has powers...I lied before, Baekhyun is not powerless…” Chanyeol made a hopeless attempt to protect the human, the people on the table jumped in on the opportunity to say things against the King’s decision but Chanyeol knew that his father was not convinced. The King had seen right through him, and his lousy attempt. The downhearted smile that was sent his way was proof enough.   
  
“I think we’ve discussed enough. I suggest you all consider the words I just advised. It is happening either way, but having your thoughts aligned with the kingdom's will only work in your favour.” The King spoke, power and pride exuding from his statement as everyone at the table just nodded and proceeded to leave. Chanyeol walked out, his palms in fists. The King did nothing but shake his head at his son’s childishness.   
  
\-----   
  
Baekhyun almost shrieked at the way his door banged open. Sehun who was just a few strides away came in running at the noise too.   
  
“W-What is happening?” The human panted, scared of the way his entire body was engulfed by force. Sehun stood there speechless not knowing how to react or stop whatever was happening.   
  
“C-Chanyeol…” Baekhyun muttered and Sehun’s eyes bulged out of his eyes. Never in his service of 14 years had anyone other than the King and his sibling even dared to blurt out the Prince’s name. He almost feared Baekhyun's faith.   
  
“What power do you have? Tell me!? You are bound to have some power?” Chanyeol insisted, pleading with a broken voice as his tentacles swimmed along Baekhyun’s entirety, rendering him speechless. Chanyeol moved in closer, resting his head on the human’s shoulder, the dismay similar to an athlete losing his race. Baekhyun’s hands moved on their own accord, tracing alongside the soft tentacles, his palms inching and finding refuge in the Prince’s fiery red hair. The warm soft caress made Chanyeol nuzzle Baekhyun’s shoulder. His erratic angry heartbeat calming down.   
  
“Is..something bothering you, my Prince?” Baekhyun switched back to the formalities, because even if Chanyeol didn’t catch his slip of a tongue, Sehun did and for that he knew he was already going to receive an earful.   
  
“Baekhyun, do you really have no powers?” Chanyeol muttered again like a small kid who was refused another spoonful of Nutella. Meanwhile, Sehun stood there calm on the outside but agitated on the inside, he knew Baekhyun had stepped way over his boundaries but he was also aware of the fact that if he even dared to interfere, seeing the change in Prince’s mood that would be his last interference ever. “Why are you not answering? Do you perhaps really have some?” The perk in Chanyeol’s voice, pinched Baekhyun’s heart, because he knew his answer was going to just disappoint the Prince.   
  
“Does it disappoint you...that I have none?” Baekyun asked, his voice sounded a lot more broken than he intended. Even Sehun found his heart tugging a bit, as if witnessing something that he wasn’t meant to oversee. The guard was about to turn his back towards them, when his eyes turned wide on seeing the Prince, fling Baekhyun on the bed, and while another of his tentacles almost smashed the drawer nearby. The human screeched, purely out of surprise. It was a revelation that even Chanyeol in this angry, annoyed and frustrated state, didn’t scare the human, the way it should have.   
  
“Sehun! Take Baekhyun right now! We’re going to teach him how to battle! We will make sure he doesn’t have any power, and if he doesn’t we’ll make him learn one!” Chanyeol thundered. However, instead of following his command, when the guard tried to reason out with Chanyeol, how it was too late for any of this, the Prince seemed to have lost the little patience he had saved.   
  
“Are you taking my orders lightly?” Chanyeol’s unexpectedly calm but terrorizing voice threatened Sehun, and within a second, a fiery tentacle had zoomed to clutch the guard by his neck. Baekhyun frantically screamed and shouted for Chanyeol to let go. When nothing worked and Sehun’s eyes seemed to lose focus, the human lunged onto the Prince from behind, tugging him, his small human hands moved to clutch Chanyeol’s bare chest as warm and wet tears spilled on his rigid back. 

The wetness was enough to make Chanyeol immediately let go. He softly placed Sehun on the ground and his tentacle moved to hide and rub his embarrassed face. His hands were still busy as they clutched onto the small ones that held onto him. Baekhyun was still sobbing loudly into Chanyeol’s back, as the taller just stood there, aware of the childish act he’d pulled. Sehun sat at the other end, his chokes not as heartbreaking as the humans sobs.  
  
“Do you hate me not having powers that much?” A squeaky voice from behind whispered. Sehun had accepted that his vision was dizzy, but he clearly saw the long tear trail down the Prince’s cheek. Chanyeol was about to turn around but a loud gut wrenching scream from somewhere around pierced their ears. Chanyeol’s tentacles quickly swept around Sehun and Baekhyun, pulling them both behind him, as if he was the one protecting the guard and the human.   
  
When loud whispers and screams wrenched through the still dark air outside, Chanyeol slowly let go off the two. After telling Sehun to not allow Baekhyun to leave even for a second, the prince walked out.   
  
\------   
  
Chanyeol pushed through the crowd that seemed to be discussing something. The loud wails and cries by everyone around him made him push through them faster, even though his mere presence was enough for the crowd to move aside and give him way.   
  
When he walked over to the centre of the entire fiasco, the eldest but still young Prince felt the floor below his feet shake. His head thundered as his heartbeats didn’t know which place in his body to beat louder, because the entire world around him collapsed.   
  
There in front of him laid the body of his father.   
  
The Prince famous by the name of the ‘Angry young (Neptu) Nian’ crumbled right before his subjects on the floor. His eyes stone cold as they raked over the priceless being in front of him. His brother Kyungsoo was not doing much better. The younger was at his father’s footsteps, his sobs were gut wrenching as he screeched for the gods to hear his pain. Chanyeol crawled to take his little brother in his arms but a force flung him to the side.   
  
“Don’t you even dare come near...him now, you murderer!!” One of Chanyeol’s uncles shouted, as if he was the one harming Kyungsoo. The sudden statement had gasps and loud whispers run through the entire crowd.   
  
“Uncle!!” Jongin stepped in to steady Chanyeol in his unreal state. “Please...this is not the time!”   
  
“What do you mean not the right time?! This betrayer went to the limit of killing his own father to protect that good for nothing earthling! He’s nothing but a murderer!” Another family member sprung out to support. The crowd now unaware of who to trust, whispered amongst themselves watching the entire scenario pan out. 

Chanyeol stood there like another dead body, similar to Kyungsoo’s state, the only difference was that they were strides away. The sudden shock of the happening had not registered with either of them. The quarreling and all the hatred that was spewed played like a background track, until Kyungsoo finally combusted and with a heart far too wounded to even think, the younger Prince shouted for everyone to leave them alone.   
  
On the command of the royal family, the security took over, the body was moved to the coffin for it’s burial and the two siblings were left alone. It had been hours since the two of them just sat next to each other, no words spoken, just heavy breaths and a sob here and there.   
  
“You believe me, right? I would never...do this..to father” Chanyeol’s heavy voice cracked as he looked over at Kyungsoo with eyes filled with pain and desolateness. The stone cold gaze that met his eyes, pierced through the older’s heart.   
  
“Kyungsoo...you must believe me! Our grievances aside... You and father are my only family, I would never…” Chanyeol tried to control his sob but when Kyungsoo stood up instead of acknowledging him and walked, he could not stop his tears. The sob in his voice had his younger brother turning.   
  
“Run Chanyeol...before I come for you and your earthling, I will make sure you and that dirty scoundrel meet a far worse end!” The stone cold eyes and harsh voice spit the words at Chanyeol’s face leaving behind a broken piece of the ever perfect royal family.   
  
\-----   
  
It was earlier than early morning, when Chanyeol’s door cracked open. It was probably someone trying to avenge their King so he let them enter, as if at least this would bring him inner peace. To his surprise, Sehun stood before him, and behind him, the easily recognisable tuft of hair.

“I am sorry, my Prince but he wouldn’t stop bawling his eyes out. Even though I did try and tell him you were safe…” Sehun tried to explain but Chanyeol only slightly nodded. As soon as approval was granted, within a second, a frail soft body rushed towards him flinging scanty warm arms around him. Sehun was about to lose his calm and scold Baekhyun, but he kept his ground, sensing that Chanyeol probably needed this more than ever. Before the Prince had a chance to, or even if he wasn’t going to, the guard excused himself.  
  
“Do you want me to do something to make you feel better?” The human softly asked, unaware of what would be comforting for the Prince at this particular moment.   
  
“Just.. stay by me.” The answer was soft yet heavy. Baekhyun nodded as he tightened his hug around the Prince, and caressed his hair ever so smoothly. The human purposely breathed loudly near the Prince’s ear, the hums of his breath being therapeutic and aiming to bring peace to the broken person in his arms. They stayed there for almost more than an hour when Chanyeol finally spoke.   
  
“The last...conversation I had with him...was an argument…” Chanyeol broke down as he cited his worst regret. “What if the last thing he thought was...that his own son despised him?”   
  
“Chanyeol…your father definitely knew how much you valued him...please don’t let your thoughts make you think otherwise.” Baekhyun tried his best to make sure these spoiled thoughts didn’t mess Chanyeol’s mind. It didn’t take long for the taller to find refuge in the other’s arms, as he broke down. For the first time in his 31 years of his life on Neptune, he felt warm in the protective embrace of the small arms as he let go of his emotions and sobbed.   
  
Baekhyun didn’t stop the Prince, he let him cry his river. He sat there, with his aim to offer comfort and warmth. The wrinkles on his palms were beginning to mirror the texture of Chanyeol’s hair from having caressed them for so long. It was as if a dam was left loose and knew no ways to stop itself. The only reason Baekhyun made no attempt to stop it either was because he had come to a realisation that the person before him was filled up to the brim with anguish and it was bound to overflow some day. 

“Are you feeling better now?” Baekhyun asked, while his fingers massaged the long ears on both sides as he looked straight into Chanyeol’s sad eyes. Instead of an answer, he felt wet soft lips on his and the human gasped. The peck was soft but short, however, Baekhyun’s lip was still in between Chanyeol’s, as if the other was waiting to not thread him along a path, the human didn’t want. When the Baekhyun clasped onto Chanyeol’s lip in return, his signal quite affirmative, the Prince took control.   
  
Drinking up the soft sigh, he pushed Baekhyun flat against the soft bed, lips never leaving his. As if learning from Chanyeol’s tentacles who launched themselves and took a hold over every inch of the human, Baekhyun’s hands too clutched onto the bare sturdy back, his nails pricking dimples in the flawless skin while Chanyeol’s tongue swarm through his mouth, licking, jutting, ruining Baekhyun. The smaller gasped when the plump lips finally left his. It was just for a second to let him breathe because they were back just as soon as they’d left making the human whimper when they suddenly attacked his neck.   
  
Chanyeol’s restlessness and the hunger to devour the human was most definitely his agitation that was finding a different outlet, but Baekhyun was selfish, he couldn’t reject the advances either. His eyes rolled inside his head, when one tentacle squished itself between the human’s thick thighs, and settled in between them, warm and cosy. The feeling was too much to not lose himself. Baekhyun was a lot more sensitive to Prince’s touch than he’d expected to be.   
  
“C-Chanyeol…” Baekhyun moaned softly as the lips touched his skin only for him to feel a bite a second later on his ear, while the tentacle squished between his thighs, moving to entice him. Chanyeol slowly moved, putting a little space between them, his eyes tracing every nook and corner of the face he had not even begun to admire yet.   
  
“You bring me joy and comfort, Baekhyun.” The Prince murmured and just that one statement was enough for the human to fling himself at the man in front of him again, but the raps on the door dimmed their fire.   
  
“My Prince, Prince Jongin is here and requests a word with you” Came the guard’s reluctant voice from the outside. Chanyeol straightened as he slowly pushed the sleeve that had fallen off Baekhyun’s shoulder, back in place. He motioned for the human to stay quite as he led him to his study within his room. Once he was sure Baekhyun would not be seen, he commanded Sehun to let Jongin in.   
  
“Chanyeol...I come bearing bad news.” Jongin’s angelic face looked grim with pain and hurt etched on them. The King’s demise being too fresh in both of their minds. “Kyungsoo...has requested for Baekhyun’s head tomorrow and other members of the council...have agreed” The words and Jongin's sorrowful gaze both made Chanyeol feel defeated. “I tried...to reason with him...but he just won’t understand...”   
  
“Thank you Jongin, thank you for believing in me and being kind enough to let me know.” Chanyeol spoke with specks of tears in his eyes as he smiled through them, his hands ruffled the younger’s hair just like the way he did before when they were kids running around in the castle. The younger cousin nodded, his face just as dejected, as Chanyeol felt right now. Jongin then bowed and was about to leave when he suddenly paused for a while, his eyes clearly indicating he had something to say to the Prince.   
  
“What is it? Spit it out…” Chanyeol smiled but the recent happenings were too much for it to be taken as a genuine one.   
  
“I don't...know if I should say this..but when I was going.. back to my room, I saw Kyungsoo..with the King...exactly where the King...was...later found…” Jongin’s panicked and his scared eyes seemed to indicate what he wanted to convey, Chanyeol’s soft face immediately turned hard and stony as he slightly nodded, just to portray he understood what was being hinted towards. The younger cousin quickly bowed as he left the place.   
  
Chanyeol immediately moved to open the door to his study, afraid that Baekhyun probably heard what Jongin had just said about Kyungsoo’s adamant commands. The fear was indeed valid, because Baekhyun looked at him, with wide eyes, his face shattered and scared as he sat there shivering. Chanyeol quickly crouched down and pulled the smaller into an embrace, knowing very well what was going on in the human’s mind.   
  
“I will protect you Baekhyun.You have nothing to worry about, I will protect you.”   
  
  
**_-Neptune’s Silver Lining-_ **   
  


  
Sehun stood straight, his eyes darting every now and then as he made sure no one even tried to breach in through the room. The night had been a long one, so many things had happened one after the other, that he hadn’t even had a chance to breathe.   
  
The skin on his neck tingled when he felt a lick just below his ears. The guard flinched but just enough to slyly punch the guts of the person who even tried to challenge the already annoyed servant.   
  
“Woah! Chill dude!” The snarky voice of a turtle made way. Sehun shushed him with his stoic face, but the amount of blood that had gushed straight to his neck had given his feelings away.   
  
“You’re late.” The guard reprimanded the turtle who stood in front of him. Jongdae ignored him as he massaged his gut and made sure everything worked properly.   
  
“I’m a smuggler, not a professor…”   
  
“What’s that?” Sehun looked confused, his pouty lips jutted up. Jongdae quickly dismissed his comment by stating the guard was not cool enough to even consider learning the earthling references.   
  
“The King had ordered me to come here in the afternoon, why did you blare my ears off so early in the morning?” Jongdae scratched his ears, annoyed at having to travel at such a time.   
  
“The King is no more.” Sehun whispered, just loud enough to make the turtle’s ears stand up at the newly presented information. Sehun, however, continued... “Prince Chanyeol needs your help.”   
  
“I was called here for the human, I am sure the powerful next in line King can take of himself.” Jongdae muttered, uninterestedly. He had long left Neptune and it’s politics. He was the least concerned with the happenings of either of the two planets, be it his birth planet or Earth. Until he was given his due share to enjoy delicious delicacies on them both, he was fine.   
  
“Actually...it had something to do with the human as well..” Sehun softly spoke, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was spying in on their conversation. “Can we please go to a place that is a bit more private.?” The turtle nodded, clearly having no other option but to do so.   
  
\---   
  
“I left the human in your care because everyone promised me he would be taken care of.” An irritated Jongdae looked at the guard as he moved around to lock the doors. “Though I knew the hatred towards humans on this planet, I was assured they would figure out how powerless they were if they were to have one live with them.You better not tell me they did not take care of him...” Jongdae eyed Sehun, but the guard remained quiet, unsure if he should tell the turtle of the initial traumatic events Baekhyun had to face. His silence was taken as an answer and Jongdae flipped.   
  
“I’m taking the human, he does not deserve-”   
  
“Actually, the Prince cares about the human a bit too much...for it to be considered normal.” Sehun guardedly spoke, unsure if he was even in the position to give away this detail, but the Prince’s command rang in his ears and Jongdae, the turtle who managed to smuggle everything and anything in and out of the plant, was their only answer.   
  
“ He managed to win over Kyungsoo?” Jongdae was surprised that the human had managed to get through to him but Sehun’s head shake made him guess for Jongin. But when Sehun shook his head again, Jongdae felt yet another invisible punch in his gut. That disgustingly cute human had managed to get through none other than Chanyeol? Sehun easily could understand the confusion that resided on the smuggler’s face because anyone who had known Chanyeol prior, would have been surprised.   
  
“Baekhyun’s, as well as the Prince’s life is in danger, we need your help to smuggle them both out of here.” Sehun earnestly begged. He was scared because Jongdae paused and it was too long for it to be considered as an affirmative.   
  
\----   
  
“Your Highness, it’s the only way.” Sehun sighed, as he saw Baekhyun snuggled in a bundle of warm blankets, in a stupor of his own as Chanyeol paced from one side to another. Jongdae’s annoying ass sat at the table, eating some round fruit he called grapes.   
  
“I am not putting your life in danger!” Chanyeol hollered as his eyes, narrowed in on the disgraceful turtle, who now choked on the round fruit. “Why does Sehun have to accompany us?”   
  
“I already told you, I thought it was a one man job, Baekhyun is fine, but you’re too fat-”   
  
“Jongdae!” Sehun’s traumatised expression was enough for the turtle to roll his eyes. This Prince was the one who needed his help, not the other way round. Plus, how long will this dimwitt take to notice that he was actually doing this for the guard’s safety. 

The Prince on the other hand stood there light lipped, his eyes aflame with controlled anger.  
  
“My father is dead! I cannot find his killer, if I am the one who dies next. My Baekhyun is-.. I mean, the earthling is in grave danger, I cannot protect him if I don’t leave!” The ‘my’ had not missed anyone’s attention. Both Sehun and Jongdae’s eyes were wide open and Baekhyun, even though in a fragile state of mind, turned into deeper shades of pink.   
  
The Prince sighed, a sad long groan as he sat on his bed, his fingers pulling his hair. Everything was out of place.   
  
“Hey...” Jongdae shuddered when the guard sent a glare his way “I mean, Your Majesty, it is only for your guard's safety that I propose this. Of course, it is because I cannot carry you two alone, but also because if you leave in the shadows of the night, who do you think will be held accountable and be tortured ‘till he gives away your location?” Jongdae reasoned. His words surprised both the Prince and his guard. Realising that the smuggler had a point, Chanyeol announced they would be leaving together and Sehun would be the one helping Jongdae with handling their escape.   
  
\--

Jongdae pulled out the box he had used to get Baekhyun to Neptune and the human’s eyes immediately traced over to the Prince’s as if to indicate his panic. Chanyeol realised it instantly and moved to smoothen Baekhyun’s hair and remind him to not worry about it, because this time Chanyeol was going to be with him too.  
  
“So, Baekhyun! Are you excited?! To go back to Earth?” Jongdae asked, his smile kind, just as the first time he’d provided Baekhyun with the blanket on that scary night.   
  
“We’re not going to Earth.” A much heavier voice interrupted. “You’re taking us to Poseidon’s kingdom.” Chanyeol had never seen the colour of Jongdae’s face ever drain that quickly.   
  
“Are you people nuts? How can we possibly-”   
  
“You’re a smuggler, get us in.” Chanyeol quietly replied, his words as if heavy commands to the turtle, who now looked agitated. “Sehun please get everything ready, we will have to leave before it’s bright outside.” The Prince continued and the guard only nodded. 

All of them were in the process of readying their mind for the next hurdle.  
  
Chanyeol contemplated when his eyes first found the box that he and Baekhyun had to supposedly travel in. When he asked if there was a cleaner and safer option, the turtle just passed snide remarks on how he was helping the Prince escape, and not plan a red carpet event. The rudeness in his comments annoyed Chanyeol, but he decided to keep the punishments for later. All that mattered right now was finding that gruesome bastard who took his father’s life and keeping Baekhyun safe.   
  
The Prince entered the box before Baekhyun, his tentacles, as if repulsed by the restrictions went haywire initially, but settled down once Chanyeol willed them to. In a close second, Baekhyun stepped a foot in and Chanyeol casually made a cushion out of two of his tentacles. The human’s eyes shone when he realised how small actions of the Prince actually gave away how much he cared for the human.   
  
The recent happening had spread a noticeable dull ache around the entire kingdom. It was quiet and frightening to see that the entire planet had come to a halt. Chanyeol’s heart hurt at even the thought of leaving his home, and that’s when he found the brown orbs of the human gazing at him. Something settled at the pit of Chanyeol’s stomach.   
  
“Baekhyun...” Chanyeol softly whispered across the human’s face, they were pretty jam packed in the space, so he could easily hear the human’s heart thud a little louder, which made Chanyeol’s lips curve, just by a centimetre. 

The human just nodded, too scared that even a minute noise could get them caught.  
  
“Do you miss home…?” Chanyeol asked the question, he had long since been scared to chance upon. But today, as he left his home by choice, even then he felt hollow, so he couldn’t even imagine what it might have been for this human to have been thrown in an entire new universe and against his will. When he heard no response, the Prince decided to probe further. “I saw the way your eyes lit up when Jongdae talked about Earth...do you perhaps want to go back?” Chanyeol’s heart hurt even asking the question, and it seemed like his heart was going to hurt even more because the droplets he saw escaping the human’s eyes were a crystal clear answer. He heard the human take a deep breath.   
  
“Do..you..want..to..send..me...back?” Baekhyun’s broken words twisted his heart as he could not find an appropriate response in the few seconds that Baekhyun granted him. “Everyone here hates me, it’ll be good if I go back right?”   
  
Taking it as a cue that Baekhyun didn’t readily want to accept that he actually wanted to go back, just to spare Chanyeol’s feelings warmed the Prince’s heart. How could anyone hate these beings who possessed such warm hearts?   
  
“If you wish...after we meet Poseidon and hopefully convince him, I can ask Jongdae to...safely drop you back on Earth.” The Prince tried hard to not show the sorrow that ached his heart and successfully managed it, because Baekhyun’s eyes were now overflowing. Chanyeol took this as a sign of happiness and smiled.   
  
Since they’d been constrained in the box, Baekhyun found himself recollecting the time he spent on this planet. He realised he had been through a plethora of feelings since he had stepped foot on this planet. At first, it was haunting because he thought he was kidnapped and would probably be dead, then he was in awe of actually finding something none of the humans would ever discover. Further, he was scared for his life because of how Kyungsoo had tried to torture him, but over time since he’d been in Chanyeol’s care, all he found within were warm thoughts and kind feelings. Baekhyun felt closer to happiness than he had ever felt back on Earth. 

Was he delusional? How could he feel more at home now than from when he was home. When warm fuzzy breaths touched his ears, he realised that no, he didn’t feel at home on Earth and neither on Neptune but actually in the arms of the person’s he was currently nestled in. Realisation struck but what use was it of? When Chanyeol would never even consider him as an option? Yes, they did kiss a while back, but it had probably beenChanyeol’s way of finding comfort. 

Realising that there lay no future, but rather just anguish of seeing the Prince be happy with someone else, even when he stayed here, Baekhyun decided he’d rather return to Earth. The sturdy warm chest that brushed his back, would probably not be there tomorrow, so he decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Baekhyun sighed as he let go off his body and sought comfort in the heartbeat that thudded against his back.  
  
Sadness coupled with overthinking was probably one of the main reasons why Baekhyun woke up with a splitting headache. Chanyeol’s arms and tentacles were still cozily wrung around him as if to protect him from bruising against the wooden surface they were currently trapped in. Baekhyun shook his head at the irony. The first time he was trapped here he feared everything that lay ahead and desperately wanted to escape, but right now in the arms of the person he probably liked, he wanted to be trapped in here forever. Life really does what you want it to, but always at times that you don’t want it to happen.   
  
The loud thump with which the box hit the ground and the jerk that shook his being, was enough to alert the engrossed human that they had probably reached their destination. Baekhyun turned around and his heart jerked when he realised how close he actually was to the Prince. Chanyeol was still asleep and that made Baekhyun want to nuzzle into his chest further.   
  
“We’ve arrived!” Jongdae loudly announced as he opened the lid. His eyes went wide like potatoes as he caught a glimpse of the human surrounded and entrapped by vicious tentacles. The breathing tendrils looked like they were ready to strike any person who came even close to Baekhyun. The human looked caught up in a personal moment but sheepishly smiled when he realised how they probably looked right now. He was just glad Sehun wasn’t the one who had seen them or the guard would’ve fainted.   
  
Upon realising that Chanyeol’s protective stance wasn’t even going to let the turtle invade, the human turned around and lightly patted the Prince’s cheeks. The soft pat made the giant nuzzle further in Baekhyun’s neck. The human was beyond embarrassed as he saw Jongdae quickly turn around as if to give them a little privacy.   
  
“OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING!?” The guard had apparently returned, and his loud scream had made Baekhyun flinch and thankfully awakened the sleeping Prince. Chanyeol yawned as he slowly detangled from Baekhyun and stood up, his tentacles picking Baekhyun up and setting him outside the box as the Prince himself jumped out of it. It was easily visible how still in a stupor the Prince was and that gave his face a boyish charm which made the human squeal.   
  
Later when they all sat around, and Sehun pulled out some refreshments from his bag, Jongdae filled them up on how they were at the entrance of Poseidon’s kingdom, Atlantis. Baekhyun almost choked on the bite he had taken because he still could not come to terms with this reality. Chanyeol’s firm and kind tentacle was already on his back, calming him down as he coughed. After having rolled his eyes at the human several times, Jongdae further went to explain that on his innumerable visits from Earth to Neptune, he had obviously taken his time to come to Atlantis and had made a few friends too, most of them beautiful Nereids.   
  
He didn’t know until today but when he was sharing his worries with one of the Nereids in Atlantis, she told him how she could help him to enter Poseidon’s court. The information stoked Chanyeol as Baekhyun saw his eyes sparkle at the mere mention of the God. The only person along with Baekhyun who didn’t seem to be that excited about the whole situation was the guard.   
  
“Is that what you do all day? Go around smuggling stuff and flirting with sea nymphs?” Sehun asked in an accusatory tone. Baekhyun could not really figure out why it was any of Sehun’s business...unless. The bulb in his head went off as he realised how Jongdae was adamant on getting Sehun along to make sure he’s safe.   
  
“Are you two dating….?” The human quipped into the conversation without realising. Jongdae stilled and Sehun looked at him, confused. Chanyeol too had sparse expressions which denoted that even he did not understand what Baekhyun was hinting at.   
  
“We’re not dating.” Jondgae firmly replied.   
  
“What does dating mean…?” Sehun interrupted, only to be annoyed when Jongdae poked fun at him for being outdated and not cool enough to understand the human slangs.   
  
“What does dating mean?” This time, Chanyeol asked, curious to know what point the human was actually trying to put across and also because he did not like not knowing things Baekhyun spoke about. Especially when someone else in the room did.   
  
“Uh...how do I explain...it’s when two people like each other and then they...want to be together?” Baekhyun tried in his earnest way to explain.   
  
“Ew...what an inelegant way to define something so precious, humans always butcher the meaning behind emotions. We’re not dating, this turtle is courting me, and now, I don’t know why? Because he has plenty of sea nymphs to head back to!” The guard growled as he kicked his way to the other side of the place where they’d set up their spread. Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol as they shared an inside conversation on how this entire thing was very surprising! No one in their dreams would’ve taken Sehun to be the possessive kind. And, of course, him dating Jongdae.

Once the flames had settled, Jongdae went back to mentioning how willing his ‘FRIEND’ was to help him and take them to Poseidon’s court. Everyone, including a grumpy Sehun, finally came to the decision that they would indeed seek the Nereid's help. 

Once the decision got it’s green signal, the Nereid communicated with Jongdae in their conch shell code. The final plan that was decided on was that the Nereid would blow a loud conch shell to alert them, so they could begin their quest. It would be her signal to let them know that half the court, which was mostly other Nereids, had left for their monthly spring baths. Luck was on their side because they were just in time for one, but it seemed like it would still take a few days. Though the Nereid herself would have had to leave them too, she had agreed to at least help them reach the main court before she departed.  
  
The four of them for the remaining days camped around the kingdom, hidden in the surrounding trees, waiting for the signal. Atlantis, which was Poseidon’s kingdom, was a submerged underwater body. Though most of the kingdom and its inhabitants were below water, Poseidon’s court was still afloat on the sea. After all, not all the visitors to his court were aquatic creatures who could survive the sea. 

As the days passed, Chanyeol’s agitation grew, he knew that the situation he’d left back home was not something to make light of. The planet was probably already on it’s way to seek revenge from humans. 

Finally after the rib crushing wait, the conch shell’s trump blared into the sky!

And so, Baekhyun’s fidgety nerves had set in at the mere thought of having an audience with a God! The human gulped dryly when they stood in front of the golden gate that seemed to be the entry point of Atlantis. Chanyeol’s hand, which had creeped to hold onto his, gave a light squeeze and managed to alleviate some of the nervousness. 

After waiting for a while without any sign of welcome, the gates suddenly opened. Jongdae’s friend walked out and greeted them, but still her eyes looked around cautiously. Her fear of being caught was quite detectable.

Baekhyun on the other hand, was fighting an inner battle. He had thought Chanyeol and his family was beautiful but the serene beauty that stood in front of him made him realise that there were all different types of beauty in this world. She introduced herself as Doto, one of the 50 Nereids that lived in Atlantis and further explained how pained she was to find out from Jongdae about their grievances. 

To Baekhyun, Doto seemed like she genuinely wanted to help, after all she had even alerted them to avoid the court if they were to see Amphitrite, Poseidon’s wife. The mere name was enough for Chanyeol’s face to have darkened. Afterall, Amphitrite was one of the major reasons why their planet had lost most of its treasure, Chtamorphia being one of them. 

They were led around the golden palace and Baekhyun had to calm his heart because it couldn’t take the beauty that surrounded him. This place was something out of a magical story tale. He also felt a little dizzy from having finally accepted the dual realities of the world he lived in. Indeed humans did reside in a world where they knew nothing of what existed outside it.   
  
When Doto halted suddenly and Jongdae headbutted into her back by mistake, Sehun’s glare and accompanied eye roll was enough for Baekhyun to think that Sehun was definitely a lot more interested in Jongdae than just as a mere person who was being courted against his will.   
  
“We are here. Those are the gates that lead to his court. Hope you can get what you came here for, sorry for I have to take my leave.” The Nereid smiled. “ Lord Poseidon is probably expecting you already.” When Doto’s words were finally understood by the human, he feared that Sehun was right all along and they had fallen directly into a trap. His obvious fear made him latch onto the huge palm, even tighter than before. Chanyeol, however, showed no sign of fear as he walked in straight along with the human by his side, followed by his now more-than-ever attentive guard and Jongdae.   
  
A court attendant welcomed them inside, and to Baekhyun’s surprise, people around them acted as if they were already aware of their arrival. What Doto had said was indeed true, because the court was comparatively pretty empty as to what one would have expected of a God’s. His thoughts took a backseat as his anxiety grew when he came in front of a person, who seemed like Poseidon himself.

Baekhyun’s jaw dropped from being stunned by the immortal sense of beauty that resonated around the man. He was tall, well built and lean but even then his easily visible sturdy muscles dictated the fact that this body had faced wrath in times of war. His long black hair was judded with cyan blue pearls and his crown resembled nothing but power, making the God look even more frightening. Baekhyun could literally feel the trident, that the sea god was holding, pulsing with incomparable power.  
  
When the group finally stood in front of the God, who practically owned every meter of the land they were on, the said deity did nothing but read a roll of paper at his chairside. A sign of being utterly disinterested in the discussion that was to come.   
  
“I am Prince Chanyeol of Neptune, the son of Park Eugene. We are Chtamorphia’s bloodline and your descendants.”Chanyeol spoke without a sparkle of fear in his tone. Baekhyun could clearly hear the power in his voice, and the fact that it made even Poseidon finally pay attention to them, said quite a lot.

The striking surprise on Poseidon’s face made it clear that he did not expect them to be from Neptune, let alone someone that was his bloodline. He probably had mistaken them to be his kingdom’s subjects, troubling him with another unimportant grievance.   
  
“What is that you seek...Neptunian?” The heavy and stern voice of Poseidon resonated through the halls of his court.   
  
“I have come here to alert you of the problem that might arise in the near future, with its likelihood to endanger your humans. The situation has gotten out of hand and we must at the earliest possible moment do something to solve it.” Chanyeol blurted out, but his stance along with his stoic face screamed of how unnerved he was and how resolute his proposition was.   
  
“What is it that you require of me?” The God curiously grunted.   
  
“We would like you to accompany us back to Neptune and set our relationship with the earthlings straight."   
  
“Problems that you create for yourselves are none of my business.” The God calmly replied as he called upon one of his court attendants to lead them away. The dismissal of the request was so abrupt and unexpected that Chanyeol along with the others seemed to panic for an instance as their eyes sought each other in the confusion.   
  
“I have not risked my life to come here and be sent back! My father was killed because of you! And soon humans will be the ones to face Neptunians’ wrath, all because of you!” Anyone present there could point out that Chanyeol had lost his cool but, his companions also knew that he would not let it reach a point for it to turn into something dangerous. They, however, had not expected the foolish God to let out a laugh.   
  
“Do you know who will deal with the Neptunians if they were to do something that stupid? They won’t stand a chance against us gods! Being worried about humans is the last thing you need to be, worry about your own planet. ” Poseidon’s blunt reply, even made Baekhyun annoyed. A seething Sehun and even the never caring Jongdae who now seemed offended, both seemed to feel the same way.   
  
“It is your planet too! You are the one who created it, created us! Take responsibility for your actions!” Chanyeol’s fury was quite evident in the way he spoke back this time. Though Baekhyun was annoyed by the God’s lack of sympathy, he visibly tensed at the way Poseidon now looked back at Chanyeol with dark eyes. Using the God's pause to his liking, the Neptunian continued.

  
“I am not worried about humans! I never will be! And you are right, my people will never stand a chance against the gods. But I am now their King! I will not let them go into this, knowing that they would not survive it! You left us to our faith long ago, but you were the one who created this separate universe! It is also your responsibility to-” Chanyeol’s speech was interrupted mid way when Poseidon, who still didn’t look the least bit interested, motioned for him to stop.   
  
“You speak of highly claims for your age, but do you have it in you to actually do whatever it takes to save your planet?” Now that he realised that Chanyeol seemed to have a will, the Sea God’s voice showed his interest in the matter at hand. The smirk on his face though was enough for anyone to guess that the God had seen many heroes like Chanyeol who demanded things from him but failed to prove they deserved it.   
  
“Whatever it is, I will do it.” Chanyeol spoke, with determination in his mind and fierceness in his eyes.   
  
“I like the fire in your eyes. Let’s see what the King of Neptune can do. If you lose, you fail.” Poseidon’s sharp eyes held a spark, even the demons would be scared of.   
  
Chanyeol’s angry retort was on the tip of his lips when suddenly, the floor below his feet shook. Panic spread across all their faces as Poseidon continued to laugh arrogantly. Realising that the quest had already begun, Chanyeol’s tentacles zoomed to catch a hold of Baekhyun, Sehun and Jongdae and pushed them all outside the circle of danger. Baekhyun’s cry and Sehun’s annoying plea to let him be of some help were all dismissed when a body shot up from the ground.   
  


Chanyeol’s tentacles, after safely placing his people on the unwavering parts of the land, rushed back to him, taking a stance to fight whoever he was against. Chanyeol wasn’t a Prince just in name, all his life he had learned to fight and be prepared to wage against enemies. They’d had their own share of wars with infinite aliens of the universe, and he’d tackled creatures much stronger than a dead mummy from the mud.  
  


As his opponent took his time to wield his armour, Chanyeol closely inspected him. The man looked sturdy with his golden armour blazing brighter than fire. His hand held onto a shield which Chanyeol realised weighed probably more than his own self. A bead of sweat dragged down Chanyeol’s forehead as the other man paraded around boasting of his own self.  
  
The prideful actions made the Neptunian annoyed and led him to strike first. 

Chanyeol’s tentacles were always calm and complacent when taking care of the people he loved, but today was the first time Baekhyun had seen them in their true form. They floated around Chanyeol, in their frightening powerful glory as he approached his opponent.   
  
Chanyeol’s tentacle attacked with the force of a thousand lightning. He was sure that it would break the shield the second it touched it. The philosophy however proved to be untrue as the fighter winged his shield and almost missed slashing it off of his body entirely.   
  
After being struck down embarrassingly, Chanyeol panted as he decided that aiming for the unarmed body would be much better. Baekhyun’s strained cry made Chanyeol worry about the human rather than himself.   
  
It was a longer battle than he expected it to be, because his opponent deflected all his attacks and was only aiming for defence. No matter how and where Chanyeol attacked him, no matter how much power he used, it seemed to be futile because it had no effect on the man.   
  
Chanyeol’s body was already tiring and his muscles were aching, but the person in front of him continued to dance as if he was not in a fight but performing for the lords. This angered the Prince even more, but no matter how much he vexed the anger into a powerful attack, it still did not even make his opponent break a sweat.   
  
When Chanyeol’s tired eyes glazed over to Poseidon, the Sea God was not even looking in their direction. The insult was far too unbearing for Chanyeol. His eyes burnt with the fierceness of the devil. He swore to himself that he wouldn't quit today even if it meant that he would have to die.   
  
The last thought made the Prince seek out Baekhyun, as he looked over to the human, whose eyes were filled with fear, worry and all other emotions that Chanyeol never wanted to ever see surrounding him. 

The fighter on the field got annoyed because of Chanyeol’s lack of attention on him, and jumped in to kick directly into the Prince’s gut making the Neptunian choke out blood. Even in the time of pain, his eyes lingered over to Baekhyun, as if to soothe his worry. 

But this time, apart from Baekhyun’s horror filled face, Chanyeol’s line of sight caught onto Sehun’s calculative one, the guard looked like he was onto something.  
  
When Chanyeol’s eyes diverted to the object Sehun was scrutinizing, he realised it was the fighter’s shield. He squinted as his eyes fought to concentrate, in his current pained state where he staggered from tiredness.   
  
“Is this what you call a fight?” The other man bellowed, as he ran around the land, shouting calls of his bravery. 

Chanyeol’s eyes still remained stuck to the shield, now that he realised it seemed familiar. He kept on peering, till something in his mind finally clicked.  
  
“Achilles.” He mouthed as new fresh air filled his chest. It was Achilles, this fighter from the dead was Achilles, the strongest hero from the trojan war who could never be defeated. Unless… Chanyeol’s eyes skidd over to the ankle of the hero who was currently running around. He’d maybe taken Chanyeol to be a foolish person who did not know his weakness, probably the only reason why he was currently running across the hall with his weakest part exposed.   
  
If Chanyeol remembered correctly even a small wound or rather a miniscule force to Achilles’s heel would be enough to render the hero useless. A fresh devious smile spread across his face as his tentacle, wielded itself in the shape of an arrow and at the speed of light travelled over the short distance to where the hero was standing. In his bouts of over confidence, the man didn’t even glance at what Chanyeol was upto.   
  
The Prince pulled in all his power together and with incomparable ferocity jabbed right through the heel of the hero, rendering him tactless. A loud thud sounded through the entire court as the celebrated hero collapsed and dust shredded through the air.   
  
Poseidon’s attention sprang to the recent development as he stared back at the Chanyeol, his face showing confusion and shock beyond belief.   
  
Baekhyun’s choked sob echoed through the entire place, so did his footsteps that made their way to the bruised and breathless Prince, tackling him..   
  
“Chanyeol! Are you okay!?” The human cried as he wiped the blood across the Prince’s face and dusted off particles from his hair. Chanyeol smiled painfully through the tears as he held the human’s soft fingers. A worried but proud Sehun and starstruck Jongdae ran over to him too.   
  
“That was quite smart. You figured it out.” The Sea God sat straighter, quite impressed by Chanyeol. The statement however drove a confused look on Baekhyun’s face, but Sehun quickly sprang in to explain how his conclusion was right and it was indeed Achilles, the great greek hero with only one weakness, which was his heel.   
  
“But how did you figure out that it was him?” The human asked, while his worried eyes and hands still hovered over Chanyeol.   
  
“His shield.” Chanyeol tsked, as he stood up straighter. His body squirmed from the pain. “His shield was made by Hephaestus, the smithing God of Olympus, who specifically created his shield after being practically begged by Achilles’ mother. It was famous, we have inscriptions of it at home.” The Neptunian answered, a little hiss here and there made way through his answer, and gave away his pain.   
  
“I underestimated you, I am quite impressed with your knowledge.” The Sea God finally looked upon them with a keen interest in his eyes.   
  
“Does that mean you’re willing to come back with us?” Chanyeol breathed through his teeth as the pain became unbearable. Watching the state of the pained hero, the God was still discourteous enough to laugh.   
  
“Not so easy. I am impressed by your skill and knowledge, but what about logic?” Poseidon’s eyebrow sprung as his expression challenged the ever egoistic Prince of Neptune.   
  
“As I said, I will do whatever it takes to protect my people.” Chanyeol steadily replied as Baekhyun looked back at him with a bewildered expression. Even Sehun was shocked by Chanyeol’s stubbornness, but he couldn’t hide the feeling of pride that erupted within him at the realization that he served a person like Chanyeol.   
  
“Very well then, let me introduce you to your next quest, this time I’ll be kind enough to let you know her name.” Poseidon motioned for a member of the court to bring in their beloved Sphinx.   
  


Everyone around the room except Sehun seemed confused. 

The guard slowly muttered, how the Sphinx was a being with the head of a woman, the body of a lioness, the wings of an eagle and the tail of a serpent. She used to guard the entrance to the city of Thebes and would pose riddles to travellers who aimed to enter. If they could not answer it, she would devour them, but even the guard was unclear as to why she was here. According to the history, she was supposed to have jumped to her own death when Odeipus solved her riddle that one time.  
  
“She is the new generation Sphinx, one I loaned from Olympus to make my work easy here.I am quite interested in knowing if you stand a chance against her. There are many like you who come everyday to seek help from me for reasons dear to them, but I will be a little partial to you, as you are my own blood line.” The Sea God smirked as he eyed the steady glances that came his way. “Like your smarty pants friend over there already said, she is known to devour the ones who fail to answer her. However, I’ll be courteous and let you go.” The Sea god’s words were quite a disclaimer of how he thought this was going to end.

  
  
“I accept the faith, however, I would request my company be allowed to answer on my behalf or at least help me…” Chanyeol requested.   
  
“Don’t you think you’re asking for too many favours, Young King of Neptune?” The God joked at Chanyeol’s expense but still accepted the condition. A sign of his pride in the Sphinx and her unsolvable riddles. He might have misjudged the tactness of the Neptunian before, but he was quite sure that only failure came their way when it was the Sphinx they were dealing with. Soon, the robotic and scary voice that reminded Baekhyun of a possessed girl, buzzed through the corridors of the palace. Baekhyun along with Sehun and Jongdae jittered at the sight of the lifeless weird body that stood in front of them.   
  
“Only one colour, but not one size,   
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies   
Present in the sun, but not in rain

Doing no harm, and feeling no pain, What am I?”   
  
The Sphinx had already presented the riddle. Chanyeol bit his lip as he continuously fretted his mind, his eyes searched over to find comfort in Baekhyun’s. The human was helpless because he was smart but not enough to help answer a God’s riddle.

After a silence that followed for a long while, the Sphinx repeated her question again. Sweat filled with trepidation trickled down their foreheads as they chewed off their fingers for the answer. Baekhyun’s insides clenched as he realised that if they were to fail at answering, then the pains that Chanyeol had endured just a while back would be futile.

Not knowing the answer was agonising, especially because now all Chanyeol could think of was his Neptunians on the other side of the universe raging and using his escape as a reason to march and attack Earth. 

All his worries were indeed true, because the entire planet had conveniently shifted the blame onto the human. They were sure that the earthling had hypnotised Chanyeol and this called for only one thing and that is invading Earth and taking back what they thought was a reason for their downfall.  
  
“I think it is safe to say that you have...failed.” Poseidon spoke up filling the empty silence after having waited quite a while for an answer. “ I actually expected something from you, Young King of Neptune..but like we agreed on...please stay truthful to your word.” Poseidon sighed as he motioned for his guards to lead their guests outside.

As the Sea God’s minions started crowding around the group, pushing them to leave against their will, irritation took over every inch of Baekhyun’s nerves and his eyes blazed with anger. The sole reason he’d let Chanyeol battle for his life was because he expected the God to help them out. Even after proving their worth, being berated like this, like this was not something he expected of a God.  
  
Baekhyun’s eyes lingered over to a bruised Chanyeol, who was being pushed out of the court. A Prince of an entire planet was being insulted in front of his eyes and hence, his annoyance took the better of him as he used what little he knew about the Greek Mythology and shouted his guts out: “I KNOW YOU’RE SCARED OF ZEUS'S WRATH, I WILL REVEAL YOUR SECRET TO HIM...AND- and...and…” Baekhyun silenced as he realised the minions had stopped what they were doing. Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun, a glint of fear in his eyes, accompanied by surprise, the most of an expression Chanyeol had shown in his life.   
  
“What did you just say?” The God bellowed from his throne. Chanyeol’s already bruised tentacles instantly moved to hug the human and hide him behind his back. Even though he had saved Baekhyun from the icy glare of the Sea God, how could he forget the sharp mouth of the human.   
  
“Ye-yes. I will out you! I will tell him you created an entire planet and are secretly trying...to...dethrone him…” Baekhyun tried really hard to make sure his voice didn’t crack. He was scared, he was very scared but if Poseidon were to even catch a whiff of it, they all would be dead. So he maintained his stance, as he moved even with Chanyeol’s tentacles wrung onto him. “What do you think will he think of...the fact that suddenly an army of creatures started attacking the earth? His wrath is the most feared in Olympus, even though you are powerful, if he was to find out that you were trying to betray him...then…”   
  
“Shut your trap Neptunian! I will kill you, this instance!” Poseidon yelled as his anger raged thunder throughout Atlantis. Baekhyun was terrified and matters seemed to be worse, when he glanced towards the prince and saw Chanyeol scared for him. Did he make a mistake?

 _So what? He’s going to die anyway, he might as well help Chanyeol before it happens.  
_   
“I’m not a Neptunian, I’m a human, so yeah! Kill me! But you know what happens to humans when they die? They go to the Underworld, and I’m sure your brother Hades would love to know this gossip...and...tell Zeus-”   
  
“Enough!” Poseidon looked straight into the eyes of the obviously scared human, and he commended him for his bravery. “A mere earthling like you, trying to blackmail a God! You are quite interesting.” The Sea God smiled deviously. “Guess I’ll have to go check out what this drama is all about after all.”

  
Sehun’s eyes almost jumped out of his eyeballs, when he realised Baekhyun’s stupid tactic had worked. It really was true that being immortal and living for so long was boring, because Poseidon probably jumped at the first sight of drama. Throughout this entire scenario however, one thing was for sure, both the Neptunians and the earthling had lost their respect for the God.   
  
After Baekhyun’s cries and sobs about Chanyeol’s bruises and pains wore out everyone in Atlantis, the God finally gifted Chanyeol the godly nectar which repaired every tear in his body, in seconds. 

And just like that, they set sail with Poseidon, back to Neptune. 

Baekhyun couldn’t believe he’d pulled it off. His stupidity had managed to get him what he needed. During their journey back to Neptune, it was quite funny how Poseidon was really not a very frightening immortal. In fact, the human was more scared of the Prince who sat far away from him, quiet and stoic. Obviously, angry at the thing Baekhyun had pulled out a while back.

However, the fact that his tentacles were still wrapped around the human, so as to make sure he was protected or out of danger made Baekhyun smile. Chanyeol was so precious. If it wouldn’t have been for his persona, everybody would’ve known how pleasant he really was, but the shorter was glad that he was lucky to be the only one to see it.  
  
Soon the air around them had changed and Baekhyun instantly recognized the murky dull smell from too much rain and the dim surroundings. They were back. They were already in Neptune, all thanks to the Sea God’s horse led chariot.   
  
Even before the ride could come to a full halt, Chanyeol had jumped off it, landing perfectly onto the ground, Baekhyun apparently had no option but to be suddenly pulled in the air, and be safely placed on to the ground next to the Prince.   
  
“Chanyeol…” The human purred, and the Prince immediately retrieved his hold off of him. Baekhyun did want to say something, but the Prince paid no heed as he walked inside. So the human huddled behind him, leaving the rest behind them.

  
\--

Chanyeol had apparently walked into a full planet meeting that Kyungsoo had called upon, and with the way they all were armed and cheering, it was probably the one after which they planned to attack Earth. The Prince’s chest tightened as he scraped his feet to reach his brother.

The tall Prince had obviously expected a vengeful reaction when his eyes met Kyungsoo’s but what he did not expect was being smacked into the wall by the younger. Chanyeol choked as his back collided with one of the water walls. A loud crunch from the shattering of glass resonated during the ceremony and caught everyone’s attention. Kyungsoo’s thick grey tentacles clutched onto the writhing body of his brother as the audience watched in terror and the proceeding came to a stop. Kyungsoo gritted his teeth as he slammed Chanyeol against another wall, making the Prince groan loudly from the impact.  
  
“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun’s gut wrenching screech echoed, as his heart throbbed in his head. He had seen too much of Chanyeol being beat up today and his fragile heart could not take it anymore, as he burst into tears. 

The display of Baekhyun’s emotions meant nothing to Neptunians who now became increasingly aware of the fact that the awful human who had turned their beloved Prince against his own father was within them.  
  


Anyone who knew Chanyeol’s voice could hear the agony which filled it, as he let out a cry when he realised Baekhyun stood in between monsters who despised his mere presence. As if on cue, even though he was brutally being thrown and punched, Chanyeol’s tentacles moved to get a grasp on Baekhyun.  
  
“How hurtful! My coward of a brother returns and even then his only aim is to protect his pet…” The hatred in Kyungsoo’s voice seeped in the hollows of Chanyeol’s ears. He painfully looked at the monster his younger brother had become and involuntarily a tear escaped him. “Why are you crying now!? How dare you cry now! After leaving me! Right after our father...our father...” Kyungsoo’s scary personality had suddenly switched to the kid Chanyeol remembered teasing at a young age.Chanyeol finally recognized his brother even though his eyes were icy cold.   
  
“Kyungsoo...you demanded for Baekhyun’s head...and I was already…framed-” Before Chanyeol could continue, his ears heard Baekhyun’s cry and his heart hurt. “Kyungsoo...he’s powerless. Please, I beg you...let me go…I need to protect him” Chanyeol pleaded as his eyes searched around to catch a glimpse of the earthling. 

His heart hurt when his eyes found the fearful sight of Baekhyun being pulled and attacked by the Neptunians near him. The human’s eyes never left his as tears flaked over the bruises the attackers were leaving behind. The hatred within Chanyeol to finish anyone who hurt Baekhyun was about to ignite when a sudden terrorizing streak of lightning hit the exact place Baekhyun stood. 

Chanyeol’s heart stopped for a minute as he saw the Neptunians being thrown away. 

He regained his life back, when he saw Baekhyun stand in the middle unharmed by the lightning, but bruised by the previous attacks. Suddenly the wind around them sped up and the entire planet seemed to have been surrounded by a storm. Chanyeol desperately tried to get out of Kyungsoo’s clutches, as he saw Baekhyun breathe harder, his face scared ,with bruises all over him.   
  
Chanyeol noticed a figure, much taller and bigger than the one they’d seen back at Atlantis walk into the scene. The man actually made Jongdae and Sehun look like Lilliputians next to him. Apparently, Poseidon had left his frail form back at his palace, as he walked on Neptune with a much more muscular one. Anyone could feel the power that surged through him from miles away. The entire planet halted at his entrance, which made the turtle roll his eyes.   
  
“How dramatic, this was the only reason he changed his form” Jongdae muttered as Sehun shushed him.   
  
The arrival of the immortal had even Kyungsoo distracted like the rest of Neptunians. Of course it would, the person they’d waited on hand and foot, had finally walked back onto the plant.

Chanyeol quickly took this opportunity and trudged towards the shivering human, bundling him up in his tentacles and pulling him closer to his chest. Baekhyun breathed warm gasps on Chanyeol’s chest, and the fact that his human was breathing was enough to help calm down his nerves. Meanwhile whispers and outcries broke out in the crowd as they realised Poseidon had stepped foot on their planet.  
  
“What is going on here...this a lot less drama than I’d expected.” The God spoke in his polished voice as Sehun and Jongdae sent him annoyed looks. Who would’ve expected a God to be this... irksome.   
  
Everyone in the crowd slowly fell to their feet and started paying respects to the Sea god. They wailed out his name and asked for his blessings.   
  
“Your king here...tells me you all are planning an invasion on the Earth.”   
  
“Who made him the king?!” Kyungsoo’s fearless voice sounded through the silence.   
  
“And who might you be?” Poseidon asked curiously as he pranced around, re-living the past and the nostalgia that came along with this planet.   
  
“I am the king!” Kyungsoo spat out.   
  
“Oh, so you’re the one who killed your own father to get the throne?” The God asked, his voice clearly giving away that he was trying to purposely infuriate the small angry Prince.   
  
“How dare you! I would never-! Chanyeol will never be a King! He left Neptune! He left me! He left his people to run away...with that earthing.” Kyungsoo noisily spit, as if even uttering anything related to humans was disgusting for him.   
  
“Wait a second, You lied to me? You are not the King of Neptune yet?” The Sea God looked back at Chanyeol, as he asked in an accusatory tone.   
  
“I am the Prince next in line to be the King!” Chanyeol spoke back annoyed at the interference but quickly turned back to his brother to reply to his accusation. ““I didn’t leave! You made me leave! You told me to run before you–”   
  
“What a coward! I told you to run and you ran!?”   
  
“You ordered for Baekhyun’s head, I had no option but to–”   
  
“What? Why would I? Knowing how much you–Never mind-! Stop making up excuses! When–” Kyungsoo stopped midway as he recognized the expression, Chanyeol had on his face. It meant that the gears in Chanyeol’s head were turning.   
  
“Well, just when I thought it was going to get interesting...” The Sea God muttered as if the 10 second pause in their fight had aged him because of boredom. The instant he spoke he realised how every being on this planet was looking up to him. His eyes softened at the obvious faith they had in him.   
  
“Hello my dear Neptunians, It has been a long time, hasn't it?” A warm parental smile spread on his face as Poseidon spoke to the obvious love filled eyes, which were hooked onto him. Even Chanyeol himself welled up a little from having their longlife struggle being finally fulfilled. Their fathers and forefathers always dreamt of the day when their Saviour and Creator would step a foot back on this planet.   
  
“You all obviously know why I created this planet-.. love makes us all do abnormal things.” The Sea God’s eyes traced all the faces of the people that stood before him. “You all can only imagine the turmoil one’s heart goes through when it’s snatched away from you. While I do not expect everyone here to understand my pain, I do accept that it was caitiff of me to let my pain overtake my emotions and ignore the people who cherished me to this extent.” For the first time since they’d met, Poseidon felt like someone Baekhyun would like to get to know. The pain in his words and eyes made Baekhyun actually want to know more about the God.   
  
“I must say, I did set the bar too low, but the heir to the throne of Neptune,” Poseidon’s eyes immediately traced over to Chanyeol, as he smiled proudly over the kid before he continued. “He really does care about you all. He cares about you all to the extent that he was ready to give away his life. And surprisingly so was this human. He was quite brave today I must tell you all.” The crowd which had started proudly muttering during Chanyeol’s accomplishment hushed as they heard about Baekhyun’s.   
  
“While your heir to the throne put his life up as a bet and actually fought Achilles himself, this human here was surprisingly brave enough to blackmail a God!” Poseidon’s voice conveyed how much he himself was shocked by the instance, making the crowd around break into even louder whispers.   
  
Chanyeol smiled at the mention of Baekhyun’s unwanted chivalry, as he snuggled the human in his chest. Although the Prince was highly annoyed he always was known to give credit where it was due.

The Sea God was dramatic all right, as he continued explaining his sorrows to the planet and the pains of losing it. His words could be heard through every corner of the planet as he probably wanted to let everyone know of his hardships. Finally when Jongdae let out a yawn, and was glared at by the rest of the community, was when Poseidon got back to the point.  
  
“I created this planet wholly out of love, but ah, my foolishness, I myself refrained from making sure you all received it too. I was a coward, I could not bear the loss of my loved one, but I never intended for you all to seek redemption and go to the lengths of thinking that you could achieve it, if you all were to take over Earth.”   
  
“This tiny human here stood up against a God today, knowing full well I could turn him to dust in a mere few seconds, just to save this planet!”   
  
“Don’t let my mistakes ruin the ages of work Chtamorphia has put into this planet to make it superior than the rest.” The Sea God painfully smiled, the skin near his eyes crinkling as he fondly remembered his past lover. “In all honesty, I do not deserve the importance you all give me, but I must say I am convinced that your to-be- King, will make sure no evil will befall you all. He marched into my palace today, demanding for me to return to Neptune with him, because he feared that Neptunians would face the wrath of the Gods if they tried to harm the earthlings.”   
  
“This planet is dear to me, so let me have only fond memories of it. Do not tarnish Chtamorphia’s image for something as useless as jealousy. Heed my words and put your trust in Chanyeol, he will only bring power to this planet. And if the unpleasant thoughts against Humans arise again, remember that the only reason we Gods protect them is because they’re frail creatures who can not protect themselves.”   
  
“LIES!” A loud scream screeched through the air of Neptune. Every eye lingered over to the direction that it came from. The sight however did not let them linger back, because in front of them stood the most loved Prince of all.   
  
“Why did you do it?” Chanyeol interfered before the other could take stage. The older prince detached himself from Baekhyun as he went to stand next to Kyungsoo. “Why did you lie?” The accusation in Chanyeol’s voice was clear but no one around could find the reference.   
  
“You left me no choice.” The honeyed voice, loved by all replied. The sunflower smile that had graced his face melted to display an evil smirk, very foreign to his image.   
  
“Why...Why did you do it, Jongin? He loved you like his own son!” Chanyeol’s voice cracked. This betrayal was the last of what he had expected.   
  
The realisation struck, but no one moved. Everyone was unaware of what was expected of them. Chanyeol’s eyes glanced over to Kyungsoo’s. The menacing smirk had been taken over by a brittle facade.   
  
“It hurt me too, I did love him truly, but he was about to defame our hate towards those filthy humans! I could kill him, but never let that happen!” Jongin spoke with a fire in his eyes.   
The silence was deafening but Kyungsoo’s choked sob was even more heart-wrenching. If Chanyeol hadn’t moved to support his brother on time, the great cruel Prince of the Kingdom would be on the ground.   
  
“You… did this? You killed our father?” Kyungsoo’s mortified voice gave away how much of an impact this revelation had on him. The pain he felt, measured nothing to the kind, people drew comparisons to. The person he loved like his own, all his life, the person he’d vowed to protect and destroy the Earthlings for was also the person who destroyed his family, his own planet.   
  


Kyungsoo cursed himself for the signs he'd let pass by, because of the emotion he protected in his heart. If he wasn’t so blinded by the love he held for his cousin, then he would’ve easily realised the ills Jongin held within him. He should’ve known that Of course Jongin hated the earthlings more than ever. Of course, he did. After all they were the reason why his own father was not alive anymore.  
  


It was also the reason why Kyungsoo despised Humans. Since the day he had seen his younger cousin break down because he’d lost his father, he had vowed to be the figure Jongin would look up to. The person the younger could rely on and the person who would do everything to make sure he was protected. 

Kyungsoo had failed, because if he had done it right and not festered Jongin’s hate towards humans by doing everything to avenge his uncle’s death, then his own father would’ve been alive today.

  
“Those earthlings are the only reason why my father is no more! Those humans and their sweet words! They lured in the Gods to protect them, just like that filthy pet of yours lured you in and–!”   
  
“What is this bullshit that I am hearing?” Poseidon walked towards the commotion, his eyes were stormy but his face remained as attractive as ever. “Are you perhaps the son of Park Suho?” The sudden twinkle in Jongin’s eyes gave away the answer. “Look at that, the son prances around killing innocent kings just as his father used to prance around killing innocent humans!”   
  
“No...he would never….” Jongin tried to support his claim, but Poseidon’s heavy glare quieted him.   
  
“Your father was given warnings, especially by many to stop his ways! The only reason he even stayed alive for that long was because he was a Neptunian and I didn’t want to kill one of my own. He was thirsty for human blood. It had to be put to a stop.”   
  
“B-But... it was all because of y-you... y-you are the reason…”   
  
“Yes I may be, but jealousy of the Neptunians against the humans was just a mere feeling that fretted in their hearts on and off, in fact your father was the one who revolutionized it. I wouldn’t be surprised if his followers came back with fake agitating news, to further make the humans look like the bad ones.” The lack of response from the three, was enough for the Sea God to figure out the answer.

He turned to leave the three to their own problems.   
  
\--   
  
Baekhyun now sat on a table, surrounded by too many Neptunians trying to persuade him of how they were always fond of him. Obviously, Poseidon’s speech had played a major part in this development. His ears hurt from the fake appreciation that was thrown his way.   
  
A crude noise very similar to someone clearing a throat, caught everyone’s attention. Baekhyun’s eyes moved, only to be stunned by the immortal beauty once again. Poseidon smiled like a proud old man, as he came and sat next to the human.   
  
“Neptune has changed quite a lot since the time I left.”   
  
“It’s bound to... that’s what happens when you ignore something..” Baekhyun’s curt reply made the Neptunians who were eavesdropping anxious, but to their surprise, a loud laugh snuck out of the Sea God’s mouth.   
  
“You are a really amusing human. Aren’t you even a bit interested in knowing why I readily came on board?” Poseidon probed, but the other set of curious eyes only sent him a glare. The God finally sighed, “I built an entire planet for the person in my heart, I can easily understand why you pulled that in my court. Who was it for? The guard? Turtle? Or...the Prince?”   
  
“For a God, who claims to know most of everything, you’re not that bright.” Baekhyun didn’t really know from where he gathered this heart of steel. He couldn’t even find the guts to argue with Chanyeol and here he was sitting, taunting a mothafuckin God? His thoughts halted mid-way when he saw Chanyeol and Kyungsoo walk out; they'd been inside the court for hours now. His eyes soon caught up with Jongin close behind. Their cousin was trapped in handcuffs, the human’s eyes however, hovered back to the Prince who was now looking around for something or maybe someone.

  
“Oh...so it’s that Prince of yours. No wonder you wanted to help save his planet.” Poseidon made an observation. “Do you really think...that it’s a good path to trudge on? He’s a to-be king, what future does your affection for him even hold?” The Sea God’s words hit the human right where it hurt. It was a painful reality, even though he was already well aware of it. “You are brave, quirky and interesting, my court would love to have someone like you...think over it, a future alongside a God with maybe hints of immortality or a painful life filled with the sorrows of unrequited love?” Baekhyun looked back at Poseidon with a vexed expression on his face, he was about to retaliate when a heavy voice interrupted their conversation.   
  
“You’re here!….and you too.” Chanyeol spoke, as his eyes lingered from Baekhyun over to Poseidon. The Prince’s palms as well as tentacles itched to hold onto the frail human, but he controlled himself. “Do you plan to stay with us longer?” The Prince asked, and Baekhyun’s heart thudded loudly against his chest. His eyes were on the verge of tearing up at the thought of Chanyeol wanting to get rid of him when he realised he wasn’t the one being spoken to.   
  
Poseidon cleared his throat, easily aware of the anguish going on inside the human’s mind, but he decided not to probe further. “Thank you for your hospitality, I would be staying for the duration of a moon, because my horses need to rest. It’s not an easy journey flying to different plants.” The Sea God kindly smiled, the wrinkles near his eyes portraying small wavy tendrils.   
  
“Of course, I’ll ask them to make arrangements for you and your horses.” Chanyeol replied, his eyes still on Baekhyun’s fidgety fingers, finally registering how some bruises stood out on the fair skin. “Baekhyun, you look hurt, let’s go back to your room and get those wounds treated.” Chanyeol’s voice was soft, but it was pretty clear it was a command, rather than a suggestion. The human quickly nodded as he carefully stood up.   
  
“Baekhyun, you have until tomorrow to decide, think about it carefully.” Poseidon reminded the human. Baekhyun panicked as his eyes trailed over to see Chanyeol’s confused expression. 

  
\---   
  


Chanyeol itched to ask Baekhyun what Poseidon meant, but he patiently waited until they were at a safe distance from the said God. Baekhyun’s agitated expression and stuttering answers that made no sense on being asked about it, made him realise something was not right. He still maintained his stance and led Baekhyun back to his room. 

Once they were inside, Chanyeol locked the door, a sigh leaving him as the chaos outside muted for a while. He sat at the side of the human’s bed while Baekhyun took his place in the centre. Uncomfortable with the silence inside, compared to the commotion outside, Baekhyun decided to fill in the quietness.   
  
“What happened with Prince Jongin? Have you come to conclusion as to how he will be punished?” Baekhyun realised he probably shouldn’t have asked, because it hurted him to see Chanyeol’s face twist in agony. 

Chanyeol took a deep breath, as he realised, holding it in was only going to trouble him more. His battle with his own self had him so occupied, he didn’t realise that one lone tendril of his, had made way towards Baekhyun. 

The human could clearly see the conflict on Chanyeol’s face so he readily presented his wrist to the shy tentacle that had come his way. It really surprised him how even Chanyeol’s tentacles seemed to have a mind of their own, completely detached to the emotions their owner was feeling right now, or perhaps, it was Chanyeol’s subconscious thoughts that they acted on. The possibility of the latter actually being true made Baekhyun feel fuzzy to the end of his being.  
  
Chanyeol recognized the touch that he had involuntarily latched onto and looked over to the human apologetically, ready to retract his hold. Baekhyun shook his head as his tiny, warm hand moved and squeezed the tentacle to show that he was comfortable with it. Chanyeol let out yet another sigh and that made Baekhyun even more uneasy.   
  
“Did my question bother you? You can choose to ignore it.” Baekhyun quipped as he did not want him to get even more upset. He expected the Prince to say something, anything, but another sigh was all he got. Baekhyun accepted that maybe Chanyeol didn’t want to speak.   
  
“We’ve decided that he’d be kept in the dungeons till eternity…” Chanyeol startled the human by suddenly catching him off guard. The Prince then further narrated how they hadn’t realised that Jongin's hatred towards humans which was an outcome of his father’s death, had turned this dark. The Prince further went on to explain how Kyungsoo had always thought of himself as Jongin’s saviour. It was the only reason he was this brutal when it came to anything related to Earthlings. Chanyeol warily took in Baekhyun’s reactions. The human was beyond shock when he was told it was Jongin behind everything. How it was Jongin who had planted the hatred towards humans in Kyungsoo’s mind and how he was agitated that his plan had been collapsing since Baekhyun had entered the scenario.   
  
Baekhyun’s heart ached, not for the way things had taken place but because he clearly knew how fond Chanyeol was towards both his cousin and brother. It also surprised him that Chanyeol had shared such a detail with Baekhyun, but judging from the way Chanyeol tried so hard to convince Baekhyun that it was Jongin, it seemed like the Prince was rather justifying and explaining it to himself.   
  
It was understandable, Baekhyun understood it, he did not know what the feeling really was like, but he could only imagine the inner turmoil the prince was going through at this instance, even though he carried himself just like his stoic self before. 

Once Chanyeol was done with the answers that he gave, and the questions and doubts, he himself had, his stubborn mind reminded him again about the scene that had just conspired between the human and the Sea God. It had left behind an unsettling feeling in Chanyeol’s heart.  
  
“What did Poseidon mean by you having a day to decide?” Chanyeol simply decided to put his worries into words. He realised that now they were in an enclosed room, there was only little that Baekhyun could do to avoid it. The answer though was no where close to what Chanyeol had expected.   
  
“Poseidon provided me with an opportunity to work at his court, he liked... my personality.” The human spoke cautiously as his eyes searched for a reaction from Chanyeol. The only thing he could notice was how the Prince’s hold on his wrist had tightened. The mere action sent warmth to Baekhyun’s heart.   
  
“What have you decided then?” Chanyeol whispered, his voice lower than Baekhyun had ever imagined it could get. When Baekhyun stammered out the fact that he was still thinking over it, the last of his own hope was gone as he realised the hold on his wrist retracted. Even Chanyeol’s face was as detached as before. Baekhyun had expected the Prince to at least provide him with some words of comfort, so as to influence his decision but all he got in return were tight lips. Baekhyun waited hand and foot for any sign that Chanyeol wanted him to stay, but all Chanyeol did was avoid contact.   
  
Unfortunately, that’s when Sehun knocked on the door, alerting the Prince of his duties, which were crucial now more than ever. So, Chanyeol walked out without a word. He walked over bristly to the great hall, where he knew most of his family currently was. Even though Chanyeol knew his main agenda was to make sure the people trusted him, the unsettling feeling that he ran deep within him was making him anxious.   
  
He finally walked into the room, no matter what he was feeling inside, his face only wore those well practised expressions, too difficult for anyone to decipher. Chanyeol saw most of his subjects present there as well as his few family members who were not accomplices of their cousin. 

The reality settled in and it was worse coupled with the news of Baekhyun leaving. He had lost his father, no one even in his own kingdom had trusted him when the need arose, his cousin whom he loved dearly had backstabbed him, and the only reason that recently made Chanyeol think his existence meant something in this universe, was planning to leave him too. The clash of Chanyeol’s thoughts was a lot more nerve wracking than the conversation and announcements made in the great hall. From what little he’d paid attention to, he only grasped that they were making use of the opportunity of having the Sea God among them to bestow Chanyeol with the responsibility of becoming the king.   
  
The young prince, now the to-be king, who’d aged too quickly to bear this burden of responsibility, felt nervous as his eyes traded over to his brother, who sat there with his usual confidence and powerful presence. Chanyeol had just begun to realise that he wasn’t the only one good at hiding his emotions because Kyungsoo, currently was the most broken person on this entire planet.   
  
Not only had he lost his father but in fact the loss was the outcome of his beloved’s hatred.   
  
Chanyeol now paid close attention to the announcements of the change in their overall governing body. If he was going to be King, he must now learn to keep his own emotions, which were already few to begin with, in control. The to-be king stayed seated as the meeting came to an end. He instructed his subjects and ministers to take their leave.   
  
Chanyeol didn’t have to ask Kyungsoo to stay back, but his brother, without a reason, did. Once the entire hall had cleared, Chanyeol’s eyes traced the outline of his brother’s inscrutable face. It roughly reminded him of the time Kyungsoo was trying to hold it in, when Jongin had rejected Kyungsoo’s company when they were kids. His brother had acted like he did not care the entire day, only for Chanyeol to find him sobbing in their room that night. 

Remembering the snot traced face of a young Kyungsoo, made Chanyeol chuckle. The fresh emotion too loud for the dead hall they were sitting in. Undoubtedly, it managed to steal Kyungsoo’s attention, his right eyebrow moved to question his brother’s lunacy.

  
“Are you okay brother?” The older of the two asked, his subtle attempt to hide his recent display of emotion and also make sure the other would not hesitate when it came to sharing his feelings. Kyungsoo however, just replied with a head shake.   
  
“I’m sorry, Kyungsoo. I am sorry that happened.”   
  
“Sorry what happened? Are you sorry on behalf of our cousin?” Kyungsoo’s deep heavy voice screamed sarcasm. “Oh, brother you don’t have to apologise for it. That betrayal will always plunder my heart, but what hurt me more was the fact that you abandoned your own blood, your own brother, for someone filthy you met just some time back.”   
  
“Kyungsoo, I would've never taken that decision if I’d thought there was another option, it wasn’t just for Baekhyun, it was also because...”   
  
“You say you had no choice? Do you think so low of me that I would ask for the head of someone you cherish? Someone you cherish to the level that you fought with our father for the first time?”   
  
Chanyeol sat there mum, as he realised how stupid he’d been, he did trust Jongin of course, why wouldn’t he? But he should have also trusted his brother.   
  
“Though I do not approve of that earthling as anyone even worth your-”   
  
“Kyungsoo-”   
  
“I would’ve still never asked of it! What I said right after father’s brutal murder does not count! I was in a different state of mind! You, out of them all, you my brother, should have known!” Kyungsoo’s voice broke as he looked at Chanyeol, his eyes blaming him for a choice Chanyeol had made.   
  
“I am sorry Kyungsoo, I am deeply sorry, even though I did leave Neptune, I didn't do it only to save Baekhyun because I thought you were after him! The second Jongin hinted that you might have been the person who was responsible for our father’s...my heart knew that I had to leave and find the murderer, prove our innocence to everyone!”   
Chanyeol gulped, his heart had begun hurting when he saw the tears that etched in Kyungsoo’s eyes.   
  
“Jongin...blamed me? F-For our father’s...” Chanyeol never thought he’d ever witness the day that his strong, vicious Kyungsoo would break down in front of him. He took a deep breath.   
  
“If I hadn’t left, the blame would always keep shifting from me to you to Baekhyun, and that would increase the hatred our people, even Jongin, held against the humans. I wanted to stop that once and for all. I never meant to abandon you, I planned to return all along.”   
  
Chanyeol had pulled his brother to hug him tight as he said the last few words. He could feel his chest getting wet from the tears his younger brother cried. It just reminded him of the fact that no matter how he carried himself, Kyungsoo was still a child. Chanyeol slowly ruffled his hair, as they separated.   
  
“Jongin was just... misled, I know it will be difficult for me to forgive him for the troubles he’s caused us and Neptune, but I would still understand if you sought to look for the good in him. He was always a good kid.” Chanyeol smiled properly for the first time ever, a bright happy smile as his eyes filled with tears.   
  
“I would...I would try to understand too...the feelings you hold for the human.” Kyungsoo hiccuped as he smiled when Chanyeol looked at him a bit confused.   
  
“Baekhyun is not just your pet Chanyeol, he’s someone much more important to you. I hope you’re not too late to realise it.” Kyungsoo earnestly muttered, before he bowed to leave Chanyeol behind.   
  
\--   
  
Kyungsoo’s words created havoc in Chanyeol’s mind. Though he knew what he felt for Baekhyun was not something he’d felt for anyone before, it was still something a lot more complicated than to say that Baekhyun was just someone he cherished. Since the beginning, he had only shown his real self to his mother, and she’d left him. Little Chanyeol at that time thought it was because of him, because of how he annoyed and troubled her that she came to that decision. From that day, the world had seen a different Chanyeol.   
  
But since Baekhyun had arrived, he’d seen specks and pieces of his own self, fighting to unleash his emotions, only and only for the small human. Prince Chanyeol who never so much as even took interest in anyone’s life, be it their right or wrong doings, rescued the human from his _own_ brother and further went to argue for his sake with his father, the King of Neptune. 

The answer was pretty clear. Baekhyun had become too important for him to give him up just because some immortal God found him interesting. How dare Poseidon even think that Baekhyun was someone who could fit in his court to entertain him? The human was a lot more than that.  
  
\---   
  
Baekhyun sat in his room, his hauntingly stared at his reflection in the mirror. He pondered over the options he had. Poseidon was right, though his heart ached at the thought of leaving Chanyeol, it also whimpered at the idea of seeing Chanyeol with someone else in the future, if he were to continue living here.   
  
The sudden loud smack of his room door being thrown open had the human turn around. Surprise and fear was easily visible on his face. When he realised it was Chanyeol at his doorstep, he relaxed a little.   
  
“Did you forget something?” Baekhyun murmured, soft enough for the Kingto grasp it. Chanyeol moved slowly as he closed the door behind him.   
  
“Have you come up with a decision?” He whispered back, his voice dotting on the smaller for his answer. Chanyeol’s heart raced when he saw Baekhyun nod his head. “So what conclusion have you come upon?”   
  
“I think it'll be best if I leave, I have no reason to stay.” Baekhyun mumbled, as his heart ached and throbbed inside his ribs. His fingers scratched at the fabric of his pants, as his eyes strained to not catch a glimpse of how the King was taking it. He probably wasn’t affected.   
  
Oh, how wrong was he! Chanyeol stood there breathless, his heart already showing signs of a crack as he choked. He couldn’t breathe for an entire minute, as he realised how much he wanted the answer to have been the opposite of what had been said.   
  
“Is there a particular reason that would make you stay?” Chanyeol’s brittle voice was something Baekhyun had heard for the first time. The question made the human look up so quick that he’d probably hurt his neck.   
  
“Do...you want me to stay?” Baekhyun bravely asked back, his heart cursing him for purposely bringing over the impending doom of sadness. What was he going to get out of this? Could his heart suffer more damage? It had already gone through so much since he’d been brought here.   
  
“Is me wanting you to stay, enough reason?” Chanyeol had answered his question with a question. Even though it wasn’t an answer, grammatically. It was still enough to smack the air out of the earthling’s lungs. The silence that drove over them as Baekhyun basked in the words that were just said, however, gave Chanyeol the wrong impression. His eyes drooped and his ears slumped, his tentacles glided on the floor like fish out of water.   
  
Baekhyun was however too astounded to even notice.   
  
“I guess not...” Chanyeol dully concluded as his hand went to mess his own hair. He turned to leave. The rejection was too fresh, too painful.   
  
“No! Cha- Prince, no! “ Baekhyun had hurriedly gotten up, his balance affected due to the sudden rush of emotions his body couldn’t deal with and the next second he stumbled. 

He shut his eyes tightly, ready to hit his face on the floor, when on cue tentacles zoomed in to hold onto him, even when Chanyeol wasn’t facing him.  
  
“Be careful!” Chanyeol yelled as he turned. Baekhyun was safely deposited a few centimeters next to Chanyeol, as the Prince made sure to inspect that he’d not hurt himself.   
  
Baekhyun was living a dream, at least he thought he was, because there was no way that he’d heard what Chanyeol had just said. He was in denial, but then he saw the way Chanyeol looked at him right now, worry evident in his warm eyes, as he made sure the human was okay. 

The realisation only made Baekhyun aware of how stupid he had been, to have mistaken Chanyeol’s feelings as mere politeness. 

He had lived in this palace for months now and still he hadn’t realised how Chanyeol was always so kind and genuine with him, worried about him, only him. Had he ever seen Chanyeol that affected by anyone? Or even invested in someone to that extent? Why did it take Baekhyun, who prided himself in being good at relationships, so long to notice how much Chanyeol dotted on him?  
  
As if the realisation had struck a warm cord within him, Baekhyun’s eyes teared up as he chuckled. He looked earnestly at Chanyeol who looked back at him confused, and then did what he should’ve done long back.   
  
The human stood up on his toes, wrung his thin hands around Chanyeol’s neck and pulled him down to touch his lips onto the plump ones. Something stirred within Baekhyun, when Chanyeol’s hands pulled him in closer by waist, tightening his hold on the smaller as he kissed back.   
  
Chanyeol’s tentacles skimmed around Baekhyun’s body from all sides, enclosing him. Trapping him and his senses to absorb only one thing, which was Chanyeol.   
  
The Prince groaned as he fervently sucked in those lips which were now losing their feist. He figured that the sudden weakness in response was an outcome of his tentacles having taken over the human’s entire body.   
  
Baekhyun felt faint, as his lips were attacked continuously and so was his body. He moaned a choked sob, when the tentacles thumbed on his nipples from over his clothing.   
  
“Baekhyun..” Chanyeol grunted, his deep heavy voice made the hair on Baekhyun’s body stand up as the human retaliated with an even needy groan. “I want to touch you...”   
  
Baekhyun fervently nodded as his eyes shut and his lips parted even wider when Chanyeol dived into his neck to suck, lick, bite and drag his scent all over it. Tiny hands went around Chanyeol’s thick back, digging into the hard skin, trying to not lose his balance as his knees were already weak.   
  
Baekhyun’s slurred moans were enough for Chanyeolto take it further. His palms pushed their way in through Baekhyun’s top, as the tentacles slyly started sliding in through his pants, making Baekhyun open his eyes wide. Chanyeol was secretly proud of how hazy the human looked, but it was still a new experience for the shorter, so he made sure that Baekhyun was comfortable. After getting a positive response disguised in a moan and head banging, Chanyeol chuckled as his tentacles rushed in to ruin Baekhyun more.   
  
The shorter was in paradise, he’d never felt this way before. His neck was already being nibbled onto, the sucking and the nosing was too erotic for him to complain about. Meanwhile his underarms were coiled in with tentacles as they extended to play with his nipples. The other were wrung around his thighs and the remaining were sliding in through the holes of pants, into places too private.

It made Baekhyun feel dirty, but overwhelming.  
  
“Are you sure it is okay to...”   
  
“Please, don’t stop, not now-” The thirst in Baekhyun’s voice was enough for Chanyeol to continue his attack. He let his tentacles move in deeper. A satisfied smile spread across his face as Baekhyun went still. Chanyeol’s tendrils had met with most private parts of Baekhyun’s body.   
  
The human shivered as he felt a tentacle wrap itself around his hard member, covering every inch of his leaking cock. The other one was playing around with his rim, teasing him.

Chanyeol’s hands moved quickly, discarding all clothes off Baekhyun, as his hands travelled around the curves of his perfect human, eating up the visual feast in front of him. Most of Neptunians, especially Chanyeol’s family, always roamed around bare, his tentacles were his saving grace, covering whatever was in need to be covered, so Baekhyun had pretty much seen a lot of skin, but this was the first time Chanyeol had the chance to see him naked.  
  
The fair skin that blemished when Chanyeol so much as bit on it lightly, was tempting the Prince to mark every inch of it. When Baekhyun was finally rid of all his clothes, except for the tentacle that had cocooned around his hard dick, Chanyeol groaned on seeing the angel in front of him, ready to become his.   
  
The Prince’s approval on seeing Baekhyun stark naked and his tendrils tightening around him, kind of sent a sense of pride through Baekhyun. Chanyeol reacting this way from merely seeing the human, was a big boost to his confidence. Baekhyun stood straighter, with his round buttcheeks jutted out. The mirror that was behind the human, gave a clear view to the Prince rendering his speechless. More so choking on his own spit..   
  
“I n-need to-” Chanyeol’s lusty plea was interrupted by a groan and a kiss. Baekhyun went back to claiming those lips while at the same time flinging himself onto his Prince. 

Thin, taut legs curled up around Chanyeol’s waist, and the moan he let out, rumbled against Baekhyun’s chest.   
  
Chanyeol’s tentacle that was now lining up against Baekhyun’s entrance made the smaller arch his back, as he held onto Chanyeol for his dear life. Baekhyun was so tiny and thin that Chanyeol was scared if his own dick would even fit inside the other. He was going to do everything he could, to make sure it was an out of world experience for the human.   
  
“Can I?” The heavy voice reverberated in Baekhyun’s every cell as Chanyeol asked for permission. The nod accompanied by a choked ‘yes’ was enough for Chanyeol’s tentacle to start breaching into Baekhyun’s body. The human noticed how this particular one was slimy and went in as if it's main job was to wet his hole. Inch by inch as it moved inside him, it coated him with the wet substance, it’s ducts taping themselves on the inside and the brush of liquid splashing into him.   
  
“W-What is that?” Baekhyun’s faint whisper made Chanyeol look at him. It was a mistake, because Baekhyun’s ruined face tensing everytime the tentacle pushed a little deeper, was a lot more than Chanyeol could handle.   
  
“It’s preparing you so I can enter without hurting you.” Chanyeol replied. It took a few minutes before it registered in Baekhyun’s mind as he jerked behind, his action suddenly pushing the tentacle deeper and drawing out a moan, so seductive that it even made the taller groan.   
  
“You have a dick!?” Baekhyun asked, his expression still dazed because of being filled but confused enough to make Chanyeol smirk.   
  
“What kind of question is that? Of course, I do.” Chanyeol grunted as his tentacles gave way for his dick to graze against the softness of Baekhyun’s cheeks. The human’s eyes went large as he sent his palm to cushion the thing that was touching him.   
  
“This- this can’t- you’ll tear me! How will it even enter..” Baekhyun breathlessly spoke. He was already at his limit with the tentacle now suddenly squeezing his own dick while the other traveled inside him.   
  
“I won’t, I’ll stop if it hurts you.” Chanyeol lovingly whispered as his hand moved to wipe sweat off the human’s face. Chanyeol was always so caring towards him, that it struck Baekhyun now that it was always only the human on the receiving end. Figuring that his hands weren’t needed as the tentacles coiled all throughout him were already supporting him, Baekhyun moved to grasp the cock below, which was already busy grazing his butt.

  
Chanyeol choked at the sudden feeling, and his eyes darkened. Baekhyun felt jitters run down his body as Chanyeol suddenly teethed all over his neck while Baekhyun kept pumping him. “I can’t- wait anymore-” Chanyeol groaned, as he pushedBaekhyun’s hands away and retracted his slimy tentacle.   
  
Lining his rock hard dick against the gaping hole which was now empty, he looked at Baekhyun for affirmation once again. When a nod, along with fingers clutching onto his hair pulled, Chanyeol entered him.   
  
Both of them moaned at the same time, at the feeling of finally being joined. Baekhyun’s breaths were hollow because everytime Chanyeol thrusted, he reached somewhere deeper.   
  
“H-Have you done this with someone before?” Chanyeol purred as he thrusted hard, but slow and deep into the choking human.   
  
“I d-don’t want to talk about this now.” Baekhyun croaked.   
  
“I guess, you have...” The urgency in Chanyeol’s thrusts faltered a bit, making Baekhyun push himself back a little so he could see his Prince’s face. His heart turned all giddy at the sight of a sweaty Chanyeol, with his tentacles covering every inch of Baekhyun’s body and his dick inside him.   
  
“I have...but trust me, where you’re reaching is completely new territory, something never ventured up...upon-... aaahhh-” Baekhyun moaned louder than ever, as Chanyeol’s feistiness was back. The human’s words had ignited a new pride in the Prince’s chest as he thrusted in like an animal while at the same time his tentacle that was wrapped around Baekhyun’s dick, started massaging it quicker.   
  
Baekhyun squirmed and cried at the sensation of overriding pleasure.   
  
“P-Princ-”   
  
“Call me Chanyeol...you’ve already called me Chanyeol before, scream _my_ name. Only mine, there are many princes here, there’s only one Chanyeol.” The taller’s possessive palms held and squeezed onto the soft buttcheeks as he kept violating the frail body that clung onto him.   
  
“Chan- Chanyeol..don’t stop- I’m close!”   
  
“Never stopping love, never stopping...”   
  
The whimpers, quivers and loud grunts that perfectly mixed into each other to create a burning tension around them, soon led to Baekhyun finding his release as he convulsed and shivered while in the hands of his prince. Chanyeol followed just a second later. 

Loud breaths filled the chambers a few minutes later, as both of them came down from their high.  
  
Chanyeol walked with his dick still squirting inside Baekhyun, making him grit his teeth at the oversensitivity of being plunged deeper in with every step. Finally, on reaching the bed, the Prince lowered Baekhyun on it and smiled at the already dropping eyes.   
  
“Sleep, my love, we have all the time in the world.” Chanyeol breathed heavily across Baekhyun’s temple as the smaller smiled, before peacefully drifting off.   
  
\---   
  
Baekhyun woke up with a painful sensation all over his body. His bed felt too rigid for it to be his, so his hands wandered. When they stumbled onto something soft and quite nipple-like, the human’s eyes sprang open. Chanyeol chuckled as he saw the human squeak when he found himself splayed on his chest. The thing Chanyeol had been waiting, for finally happened. The red dust took over every inch of Baekhyun’s fair, yet bruised skin.   
  
“Did you sleep well?” Chanyeol’s loving voice so close to him did too many things to Baekhyun, so he just decided to nod. Indeed a bad idea because he ended up rubbing his face on Chanyeol’s bare chest.   
  
“I really adore you, Baekhyun.” The Prince smiled as he saw Baekhyun turn a shade darker. The quiet soft ‘I adore you too’ that followed made Chanyeol chuckle and perched on top of each other, Baekhyun became a part of his chest’s rumble.   
  
A knock on the door, broke their moment. As usual it was Sehun who interrupted them and was calling Baekhyun out, because apparently the Sea God requested his presence. Baekhyun’s teeth nibbled his own lips as he realised how much of a shock Sehun was going to get when he saw and realised what Baekhyun had just done with his beloved Prince.   
  
When Baekhyun opened the door, hair disheveled and pink tracing his skin, Sehun’s eyebrows sprang up, but seeing Chanyeol walk behind Baekhyun in the same state had the guard almost losing his eyeballs. The stench of the room clearly gave away what deeds were done inside it. Sehun’s nose twisted but he forced himself to remain calm and collected as he glared at Baekhyun, but the priority at the moment was the Sea God’s request.   
  
When Baekhyun walked into the breakfast hall, with Chanyeol at one side and Sehun at the other, Poseidon had lifted an eyebrow too, but the ever so clear mark on the human’s collar bone had made it quite obvious of what had transpired.   
  
“Seems like you won’t be coming with me after all!” The Sea God chuckled, his gaze on the mark made Baekhyun blush and Chanyeol secretly smile. Sehun, on the other hand, looked like he was about to faint.   
  
“I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to accompany you my lord, my deepest apologies.” Baekhyun bowed out of respect to the God. Though Poseidon accepted it with a heavy heart he decided not to pry further.   
  


\--

Soon, it was time for the Sea God’s departing ceremony. The entire royal family along with all inhabitants of Neptune were present to see the God off.

Poseidon gave his final speech where he appreciated the hospitality which the planet had shown him and further went to apologize for not having followed through with his duties as their guardian.  
  
The God further went to announce that he was leaving Chanyeol in charge of this planet, crowning him as the King.   
  
“Make me proud!” The Sea God chuckled as he placed the crown on Chanyeol’s head. He recalled again how they owed everything to Chanyeol, who had come up to him, begging the God to save his people and his home. He was never going to let go off the begging part was he?

The crowd however, not as bothered as the 4 people who rolled their eyes at Poseidon, cheered loudly, showing their vigorous support for the new King.  
  
“Also, Baekhyun, I have a parting gift to give you for being a brave human and withstanding against all us Neptunians. It has been brought to my attention that you are too powerless to survive here” Poseidon’s eyes hovered over an annoyed Jongdae who felt violated for having been called out.   
  
“Nonetheless, you did amuse me quite a lot, so with an honest wish to help you, I would like to shower upon you the Miracle of Light.” The Sea God kindly smiled, as he placed his hand over the human’s head and Baekhyun felt a surge of energy pass through him. “Use it wisely child. It will protect you whenever darkness knocks on your doors.” Baekhyun did not know how to reply or thank the God, his curiosity though took the better off him.   
  
“What does this do?” The human asked sheepishly, almost offending most of the people who stood there. Poseidon laughed at human’s cluelessness .   
  
“See, this is what I meant when I said he never fails to surprise me.” The God smiled warmly. “Use the power of light to blind the darkness that befalls and burn the evils that touch you.” The kind smile of the Sea God had switched to a powerful aura as his keen eyes conveyed to Baekhyun the seriousness of his gift. The human meekly nodded. 

After finally making sure his goodbye was well perceived, the Sea God moved to take his leave. The crowd was cheering when he suddenly turned back again.  
  
“What now!?” Jongdae was ever-annoyed with everything that the God did. It was notot surprising since he’d seen how much importance this planet had played for Poseidon just a few days back. They all knew he seeked nothing but drama, of course.   
  
“Before I leave, I want to make it known that I wish for this human to be betrothed to King Chanyeol!” The Sea God suddenly announced, surprising every single person out there including Chanyeol and Baekhyun. “He shall be the beginning of our peaceful pact with the Earthlings! He shall be Neptune’s Silver Lining! The one who was ready to be crushed for the sake of the few who despised him.” Poseidon’s announcement was followed by loud cheers in the crowd, a louder cry of approval from the turtle. Turns out he did not find _everything_ that the Sea God did annoying, after all.   
  
Baekhyun stood there surprised as he looked back at Chanyeol, who was equally stunned. The fact that they both were elated at the same time was not a lie.   
  
“I guess you have more than enough reasons to stay here forever, my love.” Chanyeol smiled as his fingers laced around the spaces in Baekhyun’s palm, clutching it tightly.   
  
“Just you. Just being with you is enough.” Baekhyun squeezed back, his happy smile and the fuzzy feeling never leaving his side.   
  
“Is it right to say that the two of us are dating now?” The King, too pure for the expression his hostile face dorned, asked.   
  
“It would be safe to say that we’ve skipped a few steps, since we’re already going to be married!” Baekhyun giggled, his happiness evident in his eyes that sparkled.   
  
Neptune had apparently found it’s silver lining the day a little human by the name of Byun Baekhyun stepped foot (read: smuggled) on it.

  
-Fin-   
  
  
  



End file.
